Tag: politics
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THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE

She could hear her mother’s voice from the grave, ‘Is it worth it?’ The world tilts out of kilter. Sun sears her eyeballs. Cool tarmac against her face. Shards of broken green glass. A dent in a red metal bin. Memories of the night before. Anger and hatred. Standing firm. Too slow to run. Her…
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COMPOSITION

It should be something inspirational, something to make the piece soar, a fitting climax to the whole movement. He scratched his head, chewed the end of the pencil, let his fingers dance over a few keys until they ended in a terminal ‘thunk’. It was no good. He just couldn’t find the right expression of…
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ONE LAST WISTFUL LOOK

One last wistful look at the mist on the hillside before I go. A deep breath in, filling my lungs with the fresh air. It is quiet, only the birdsong breaks the silence. No one else is around this early in the morning. Others will come later for their turn. For me, that’s it for…
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GORODSKOY PARK

Gorodskoy Park in the sunshine. Not the most beautiful park. More concrete than greenery, but well-maintained. A series of paths connected by roundabouts. Along the wider walkways, freshly painted green benches, shaded by overhanging wispy branches. So what was I doing in this nondescript park in the middle of Minsk? Well, that is a longer…
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EXTENDED VACATION

Archie strolled back from the shop, newspaper under his arm. Another fine Mediterranean morning. In the campervan, Agnes was still in bed. Archie settled down in his seat to read the headlines. Iran had retaliated against America with missile fire. A commercial aeroplane had gone down. He turned the page. Bush fires in Australia. Not…