Finding my Wonders of Life ...

The last time I was at my mum and dad's, I found a book I'd bought when I was 11 years old - 

There it was, in the white book case in the box room, below a shelf of Dennis Wheatleys, Wonders of Life, by L G Humphreys -

I'd gone to Miles Bookshop in Gosport High Street with my birthday florins - 

Mr Miles was tall and slender - he wore a blue lambswool sweater - 

I can remember buying the book, attracted by its gentle cover - inside were monochrome drawings of badgers and hedgehogs - 

I especially like the coloured plates showing Our trees in Autumn and Birds that like water - 

There were calm and wise sentences about Nature and the Seasons - 

I'd handed over my shining florins, and caught the double decker bus home - from the upper deck, I'd looked out over my small world - 

There was Ann's Hill Cemetery - there was The Criterion Cinema - there was the San Diego Road Post Office -  

Reading the words I scratched upon the flyleaf of the book, I imagine myself reading it then - 

There I am, with the book resting upon my bare knees - I'm leaning forward, frowning slightly - there are freckles on my back and arms - 

There's a cherry tree in the garden - I'm thinking that I might climb it - my slight body will be hidden amongst its blossoms - 

18.58

December 3 2014

The Old School House 

East Stoke