house of happy

Life adventures in prose and verse. Explorations of places, people and words. Stories and fun.

Saturday 6 July 2013

Palavras

One month in Portugal, memory like sand, moving, fading, and hey, some words scribbled across remain:

'What river is that, Kira?'
'Goin'.
'No it isn't.'
'Yes it is! It's goin' to the sea.'

'I wonder what plants are still alive.'

'Believe me, you leaving that book on the plane is the least painful thing going through my head right now.'

'You want to make a new STAIRCASE?'

'Oh, the brambles are very much alive.'

'If you plant a tree there, see where I'm pointing? YES RIGHT THERE, it will hide the village.'

'We need a new shed'.

'We have one plum and seven lemons. Oh, something's eaten half the plum. Pick it now, quick.'

'How much does it hurt? Then I can tell you if it was a bee or a wasp.'

'Visitors? Great!'

'Granny, use the firemen's pole, it's faster'.

'You going to Mad-WHAT? Madrid? For the DAY? You mad?'

'We need a new back terrace.'

'Yes but what does grouting DO?'

'You know, if we painted the water tank blue, it would be like we had a swimming pool'.

'Visitors? Oh.'

'We need tennis rackets'.

'I can't see the stars because of the street lights.'

'If it's cooked by someone else, it's a treat.'

'Is this Portugal? Is this Spain? Where are we?'

'We cut all this wood just for someone else to burn it.'

'Let's sleep on the trampoline.'

'Ask the surfer.'
'What's a surfer?'

'People would PAY to stay here.'
'Why are WE paying THEM then?'

'Do you think that green light is an EYE?'

'There are bigger centipedes in Thailand.'

'If we bust the street lights now, do you think the mayor will know it was us?'
'No, but he might replace them.'

'I did some courses at your house. Meditation. Mantras. I fell asleep immediately. It was wonderful.'

'This place is a black hole. You throw stuff in it, money, time, energy and it wants more, more, more!'
'Yes but look at the view...'

'It's raining in the yurt. We need new tarpaulin.'

'Oh my God. The river! How did I forget the river? And it's been here all the time!'