by Steve Tanham
The first test would be to see whether Alexandra would be there, at all; the second would be whether she would launch a stream of invective at me, slapping down her written ‘resignation’ and thumping it for final punctuation in very British style. My first latte was half cold by the time I drank it. No show … I felt sad. I collected my … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with coffee, part 27 – Parts of the Whole
by Steve Tanham
The air is blazing on the Greek island. There is a faint breeze blowing off the shore, but it does little to cool the afternoon. Sitting comfortably in my beach chair, I wiggle my toes in the sand, digging them deeper and feeling the hot, dry grains give way to the wetter and more compact sublayer of the beach. The tidal shelf extends all … Read More Ben’s Bit, part six – Far Away Places
by Steve Tanham
Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee, part 26 – Outside the circle There was a chill wind as I took up my appointed place outside the doorway of our Monday morning cafe. The Summer had been a poor one for the North of England. Now, it looked as though the Autumn was about to arrive prematurely. I pulled my too-thin rain mac around my collar … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee, part 26 – Outside the Circle
by Steve Tanham
Ben’s Bit – part five – The Reasonable Dr Grey The man is calm. His dark-rimmed, circular glasses focus the intensity of his study at me, rather than taking in the light that bounces off my prison uniform, whose monotone colour, resembling a modern warship, bears his name. “Do you think it’s normal for a person in your position to refuse bail?” Dr Grey … Read More Ben’s Bit, part five – The Reasonable Dr Grey
by Steve Tanham
The night time is the worst. Within a world which contains so little, I find myself clinging to what is there; growing more present to the slightest changes in my meagre environment. When the daylight starts to fade in the evening, which happens earlier and earlier under the gathering cloak of Autumn, I can actually feel the waves of darkness changing the atmosphere in … Read More Ben’s Bit, part four – Into the Dark Waters
+ Consciousness, enneagram, esoteric psychology, Lust, Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee, Silent Eye School, Spirituality
by Steve Tanham
I sat, nervously sipping my coffee, wondering where Alexandra was. It was 08:45 and she should have arrived at least fifteen minutes ago. I was on edge for two reasons: firstly, I was worried that a woman who was never late should be so, now; secondly, an honest description of that part of our mental and emotional make-up that was the enneatype eight was … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee, part 24 – Hot Blood and Innocence!
by Steve Tanham
After exercise in the tree-lined yard of the old gaol, I am returned to my cell, clutching a fallen twig of oak. Yellow eyes doesn’t seem to mind this simple addition to the contents of my room, and lets me keep it. “They will fade and crumble soon,” he mutters, as though the judgment carries enough negative weight against the idea of keeping them. “You can … Read More Ben’s Bit, part three – The Oak Leaves
by Steve Tanham
We met at our usual coffee shop on the seafront–it having become anything but usual over the past few weeks; when our short, Monday adventures had taken us out in the landscapes around the bay. “Ah, normality! – So, at least I’ll get to London on time,” said Alexandra, sitting down at the table and looking glad to be enjoying a less hectic Monday morning. “My … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee, part 23 – Too much of everything!
+ Arthurian Legends, Arthurian Poetry, Consciousness, Mystical poetry, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Spirituality
by Steve Tanham
In the original stories of the Arthurian cycle, the summer and autumn journeys of Sir Gawain, during his year of waiting for death at the hands of the Green Knight, are little documented and left to our imagination. In this poem, the Knight rests in a glade and becomes enraptured by a flower that reminds him of the pentagram, his symbol. The depth of the … Read More The Warrior’s Glade
by Steve Tanham
I’ve done it again – drifted off, fully conscious; somewhere else. I do not know how long I’ve been staring at the Bakewell Gazette (see part one), absorbing their celebratory levity at my incarceration. ‘Local Businessman’? Well, stretching a point, but I know what they mean – certainly born among Northern hills very much like the beauty around Bakewell. ‘Businessman’? Definitely, until the recent, long-awaited … Read More Ben’s Bit, part two – The Little Red Book
by Steve Tanham
We ran through the steepening streets of the town. I pulled at Alexandra’s wrist and, every few strides, looked around, anxiously, in search of our pursuers. “What are we running from?” she laughed, behind me, now well used to my craziness. I had noticed that she had recently taken to wearing more casual clothing for our teaching encounters, and suspected that her larger bag, now … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee (22) – Flight and Fight
by Steve Tanham
Bold lines drawn on my gentle curves Hush noisy warrior Come slowly with me To the sea ©Stephen Tanham words and image, 2105
Sun in Gemini 
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