I was visiting the city in my dream<\/p>\n
The day was spring like and the sun was warming me as I walked down one of its many hills<\/p>\n
As I approached the city centre I found myself surrounded by a number of Italians<\/p>\n
They thrust out pens and asked me to sign their books<\/p>\n
Why did you write your book in English? <\/i><\/p>\n
Because that is my first language <\/i><\/p>\n
My English is poor and I am having difficulty in reading your book<\/i><\/p>\n
Will you translate the book into Italian? <\/i><\/p>\n
My Italian is poor <\/i><\/p>\n
Will it be translated?<\/i><\/p>\n
I looked at their beautiful faces<\/p>\n
I looked at their olive skin and their jet black eyes busy with questions<\/p>\n
Yes in time my book will be translated <\/i><\/p>\n
My publisher is in Milan today <\/i><\/p>\n
Tomorrow it will be translated <\/i><\/p>\n
Soon the group began to fade<\/p>\n
Slight kisses were exchanged<\/p>\n
Ciao Beppe <\/i><\/p>\n
Ciao Dina <\/i><\/p>\n
Ciao Bella <\/i><\/p>\n
Ciao Carlo <\/i><\/p>\n
Ciao Ciao Ciao <\/i><\/p>\n
Only one of the group remained<\/p>\n
Her name was Katherine<\/p>\n
She was standing in front of me<\/p>\n
Her book was opened at page forty-eight<\/p>\n
Unlike her friends Katherine did not have black hair and black eyes<\/p>\n
Her skin was not olive but pale and freckled<\/p>\n
Her hair was auburn and was moving gently in the Spring breeze<\/p>\n
What happened to the book?<\/i><\/p>\n
What book? <\/i><\/p>\n
Glimpses of unfamiliar Japan <\/i><\/p>\n
Glimpses of unfamiliar Japan by Lafeadio Hearn <\/i><\/p>\n
Lowell mentions it in his poem Father\u2019s Bedroom <\/i><\/p>\n
It went to China with him and was left under an open porthole during a storm on the Yangtze River<\/i><\/p>\n
It warped the olive cover but the pages suffered little damage <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you know where it is now? <\/i><\/p>\n
Not a present<\/i><\/p>\n
Katherine left me and joined her friends<\/p>\n
I had lied to her for the book now belonged to me and was on loan to a museum on the Yangtze River<\/p>\n
I continued further into the heart of the city<\/p>\n
I found a mobile phone shop derelict in an alley<\/p>\n
Graffiti had been added to its sorry fa\u00e7ade<\/p>\n
Corrosive Instruments are teasing (tormenting) the pheasants<\/i><\/p>\n
It is irresponsible of farmers to celebrate their freedom <\/i><\/p>\n
As I walked past the shop a young mother stopped me<\/p>\n
Do you think it is wrong of me to let Adam read the Aeneid as he is only three?<\/i><\/p>\n
Has he started speaking? <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes <\/i><\/p>\n
Then he is old enough to read the Aeneid<\/i><\/p>\n
I was seeking an iron bridge which crossed a road<\/p>\n
Taking trains away from the city and receiving trains in return<\/p>\n
It was no longer there<\/p>\n
I am standing where a mighty bridge once stood
\nit was built by the railway for the common good \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
I am standing where a mighty bridge used to be
\ntaking its rails towards the golden sea <\/i><\/p>\n
Its vacancy is immense and the silence is deafening<\/p>\n
A man in rags passes me<\/p>\n
He is destitute<\/p>\n
He has two dogs on long leads<\/p>\n
They are immaculate<\/p>\n
Come on Louis
\ncome on Blue
\nyour tragic master
\nhas treats for you <\/i><\/p>\n
Later I see this man again (without the immaculate dogs) <\/i><\/p>\n
He is seated on a soft wood bench with two girls who are much younger than him<\/p>\n
One has a shock of auburn hair<\/p>\n
I mistake her for the Italian<\/p>\n
The other is slight and very pale (she looks almost unwell)<\/p>\n
The man has been drinking again<\/p>\n
My niece came down to look after me
\nshe is family all right as you can see
\nbut do you know she does not care
\nand is fiery and wild as her ginger hair<\/i><\/p>\n
She is a spitfire and not very nice \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
You are exaggerating Uncle <\/i><\/p>\n
Now Chloe here is a different person <\/i><\/p>\n
She is so quiet you would not know she was there <\/i><\/p>\n
Who are you ringing Chloe? <\/i><\/p>\n
Mum <\/i><\/p>\n
Your sister remember <\/i><\/p>\n
That is enough from you Spitfire <\/i><\/p>\n
Why are you ringing your mum?<\/i><\/p>\n
To say that you are drunk again <\/i><\/p>\n
Tell her Spitfire is not looking after me <\/i><\/p>\n
All she does is shout\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n
And swear Uncle I also swear at you\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n
Do not forget that <\/i><\/p>\n
Tell mum that I have to lock my door <\/i><\/p>\n
Spitfire laughs<\/p>\n
Chloe laughs<\/p>\n
I have had a lot to drink today<\/i><\/p>\n
Spitfire laughs again<\/p>\n
Chloe looks embarrassed<\/p>\n
Do you know what I was charged to get into Bath?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a36.90 I asked the driver if that was too much <\/i><\/p>\n
He told me that the return was cheaper <\/i><\/p>\n
In my day the return cost more <\/i><\/p>\n
Now Spitfire here had a special ticket <\/i><\/p>\n
It would have got me into Bath for free<\/i><\/p>\n
But did she share it with little me <\/i><\/p>\n
Hell no <\/i><\/p>\n
Her best friend means more to her <\/i><\/p>\n
You are so selfish girl <\/i><\/p>\n
You are the selfish one Uncle remember that <\/i><\/p>\n
I am looking after you <\/i><\/p>\n
You are feeding me that\u2019s all <\/i><\/p>\n
But you do not care
\nall you do is shout and swear<\/i><\/p>\n
Well then starve you old fool <\/i><\/p>\n
Chloe would have cared for me <\/i><\/p>\n
Chloe has her hands full with our mother<\/i><\/p>\n
How can you expect me to look after you when you do not care for yourself?<\/i><\/p>\n
See the way she treats me Chloe <\/i><\/p>\n
That\u2019s the way she treats her own flesh and blood \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Spitfire spotted a bus turning around a hidden corner<\/p>\n
This is our bus <\/i><\/p>\n
If you do not come with me then I will leave you here all night <\/i><\/p>\n
I will give you a bell Clo when he\u2019s asleep <\/i><\/p>\n
Perhaps we can go out and catch a movie<\/i><\/p>\n
I am in a caf\u00e9<\/p>\n
It is owned by Beverly Farm<\/p>\n
She inherited it from her father<\/p>\n
Who died slowly from a painful disease<\/p>\n
The caf\u00e9 is in a prime spot in the city<\/p>\n
And holds its own against all the chains<\/p>\n
It is two minutes from the railway station<\/p>\n
And is always full<\/p>\n
The waitresses were dressed in identical brown tee shirts<\/p>\n
They were friendly and obliging but were secretly bored<\/p>\n
I order a pot of Earl Grey and a small slice of cake<\/p>\n
I have not eaten since breakfast and it is nearly three <\/i><\/p>\n
I plan my final journey of the day<\/p>\n
I am walking towards<\/p>\n
White Ox Mead <\/i><\/p>\n
Which is situated in the Mendip Hills<\/p>\n
A few miles from Bath<\/p>\n
At the end a of muddy lane<\/p>\n
There is an art gallery situated in a bare orchard<\/p>\n
It is owned by a French woman named Marie Therese<\/p>\n
I have been invited to her latest exhibition<\/p>\n
She is showing only one work<\/p>\n
She never exhibits more than one work<\/p>\n
This is what makes her so unique<\/p>\n
On wall furthest from the door<\/p>\n
I can see her painting<\/p>\n
It is large and very prominent<\/p>\n
I have no trouble in reading its message<\/p>\n
What is the title of your work? <\/i><\/p>\n
The Fatal Thoughts of Theometers <\/i><\/p>\n
The panting is red white and blue<\/p>\n
And reads<\/p>\n
I HATE YOU SO VERY MUCH<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was visiting the city in my dream The day was spring like and the sun was warming me as I walked down one of its many hills As I approached the city centre I found myself surrounded by a number of Italians They thrust out pens and asked me to sign their books Why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3162\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}