Nothing is Lost - by Noel Coward - Deep in our sub-conscious, we are told Lie all our memories, lie all the notes Of all the music we have ever heard And all the phrases those we loved have spoken, Sorrows and losses time has since consoled, Family jokes, out-moded... Read more →

Chlorophyl - by Ted Hughes - She sent him a blade of grass, but no word. Inside it The witchy doll, soaked in Dior. Inside it The gravestone. Inside it A sample of her own ashes. Inside it Her only daughter's Otherwise non-existent smile. Inside it, the keys Of a... Read more →

Handbag - by Ruth Fainlight - My mother's old leather handbag, crowded with letters she carried all through the war. The smell of my mother's handbag: mints and lipstick and Coty powder. The look of those letters, softened and worn at the edges, opened, read, and refolded so often. Letters... Read more →

My grandfather was a talented gardener and though I remember plenty of marigolds planted in his yard, I don't think he grew any roses. Still, he always had catalogs from nurseries and rose growers laying around. I have always been a bit of a reference material freak, and for me,... Read more →