What if this Road
What if this road, that has held no surprises
these many years, decided not to go
home after all; what if it could turn
left or right with no more ado
than a kite-tail? What if its tarry skin
were like a long supple bolt of cloth,
that is shaken and rolled out, and takes
a new shape from the contours beneath?
And if it chose to lay itself down
in a new way, around a blind corner,
across hills you must climb without knowing
what’s on the other side, who would not hanker
to be going, at all risks? Who wants to know
a story’s end, or where a road will go?
these many years, decided not to go
home after all; what if it could turn
left or right with no more ado
than a kite-tail? What if its tarry skin
were like a long supple bolt of cloth,
that is shaken and rolled out, and takes
a new shape from the contours beneath?
And if it chose to lay itself down
in a new way, around a blind corner,
across hills you must climb without knowing
what’s on the other side, who would not hanker
to be going, at all risks? Who wants to know
a story’s end, or where a road will go?
by Sheenagh Pugh
This week's blog is dedicated to all my colleagues at Portsmouth Land Registry. I'm posting it as the office closes and we face redundancy and a somewhat uncertain future. The road has indeed taken an unexpected turn, hidden itself around that blind corner - and we don't know what is on the other side of the hill we are about to climb.
My desk was near the kitchen area on the second floor of the office and over the past 15 months, ever since we were put at risk of redundancy, I have listened to the dreams and aspirations of my colleagues as they have taken time out to get a coffee or just rest their eyes from the relentless glare of the computer screen. One wants to write a book, another to become a teacher, others want to set up their own business - dressmaking, cake baking; someone else dreams of travelling to far-off places, buying a smallholding, studying for a degree - and others simply want to pay off debts with the redundancy package.
It's been good sharing the past 11 years with all of you. I would like to offer this gaelic blessing as we go our separate ways, and hopefully realise those dreams:
"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand."
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand."
February Stats:
Walker: 56 miles
Cyclist: 11 miles
Blood Pressure: 125/80
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