clinging to the wreckage

  The African morning is something to behold. Quite a potent and beautiful thing, but not something to always be taken easily if one is a light sleeper or in need of a deep and long sleep. The birdsong is simply describable in no other way than to say it is a cacophony of sound. Birds of all varieties seem to be in competition for which will make the greatest noise. As a backdrop to this are those birds nesting… hundreds of nests side by side, in a tree branching over one’s place of rest, coming to life vibrantly at 4am. Monkeys move along beneath the umbrella of branches and hoot their morning moans of despair and delight. Beyond the wall of trees is the Indian Ocean, crashing down its waves upon the early morning night-swept beach. A sad sounding truck passes by on the nearby road carrying its cargo to the next warehouse. In it all is an immense beauty, it is not the fog-drowned smog of London, nor the rampant roar of a tourist infested New York City. It is the balance of rain and su

  Awake through the night in Dubai… I don’t even know which time zone I am in anymore. There’s no booze in the room, there is no light, there is no sound. A day ago, I was eight hours behind my parents, now I am two hours ahead of them. I got up and went for a short walk, walked to the elevators, and pressed the button to summon one of those bullet speed shafts to the 17th floor. The elevator arrived, the doors opened, there was a matrix-like wall blocking it. My eyes adjusted and I discovered it was a rack of baggage that one of the hotel staff was taking downstairs. Inexplicably, he rolled the rack out of the elevator so I could get in and then rolled it back in again to go down with me. He told me that it was beautiful to walk along the canal, so I walked outside and went down to the canal, but I was wearing flip flops and sleeping shorts… I wasn’t prepared. It made me think of a warm and quiet River Thames. It occurred to me that the canal had probably been designed to look precise

  What does it mean, after years of fumbling and flailing romances, hopeless misadventures and elusive lustful encounters, to find someone whose voice soothes your soul… whose skin is like a familiar treasure and carries a scent that is like the warmest and safest haven of home? Finally finding a friend who is a gentle and passionate lover to whom you feel completely connected in every way. But then, several months later, in the need of legal documents, it turns out that the casual lover she spoke of when you first met was to become her husband in just a few short days. Inexplicably, the romance continues, and the months pass by… but soon comes the time when, inevitably, all things must stop in the name of ‘loyalty.’ The friendship continues to blossom, however, even when there is a trans-continental move. But then comes the day when her home country begins a war. The world is plunged into turmoil and uncertainty and certain citizens of both countries are in danger of struggle and star