SLOTH

best intentions...
but the six am yoga does not happen
slothful fireseed snoozes on in his big bed
drifting in and out of consciousness
somehow impervious
to the bright spring morning drifting through his window
bathing the room in a soft light filtered through the curtains
this idle devil dozes through the 7:30 school bell
vaguely registering the cries of the schoolchildren in the playground
the course voices of the workmen
at some point the rest of the family toddle in from h's room
and the three of us lie snuggled up together
sardine-like in the now not-so-big bed
finally at 9:30 we guiltily get up
and the day starts rolling into motion
h is going to be late for kindergarten
so i quickly make her brekky
ten toast fingers
there is a brief argument about chocolate easter eggs
h wins and gets to have two mini eggs
once she has finished her toast
she gets herself dressed
and i take her across the road to school
via the convenience store
where we grab a carton of milk
for h to drink with the other kids
(unfortunately our little one is not yet vegan!)
the street is fresh and warm and bright
oh spring is here!
i take my poor neglected shoes up to the roof garden
for an overdue polish
then unfurl the yoga mat
and begin to stretch my ageing carcass
it is now mid morning
but i guess that's what being on holiday is all about, huh?
yoga mat rolled up again
i read a book about ecovillages
over a leisurely late brekky
a little pamphlet crammed full of examples
of sustainable communities from all around the world
it all sounds very inspiring and utopian
a million miles away from this consumerist dystopia
that assaults me and my family
every time we step out of our house
every time we turn on the telly or radio
i was telling mrs fireseed about ecovillages on moon day
then by a strange twist of fate
a synchronicity?
that night she was at her class
and got talking to one of the other ladies
who just so happens to be a journalist for a korean ecovillage
in a province south of seoul
which is at an early stage in its incubation i believe
apparently the first of its kind in sk
coincidentally this lady has just come back
from a visit to an ecovillage in the north of scotland
by the name of findhorn
where the author of my book lives!
now could this be leading somewhere...?

yes-a-day afternoon
after we pick up h from kindergarten
we go for a spring walk along the han river
the fireseedlet makes her usual fuss about having to walk
and gets a shoulder ride and a carry and a piggy-back along the way
although we do succeed in getting her to race us along the riverbank
we collect spring flowers
put them in each other's hair
we soak up some sunlight
manufacture some vitamin d
we stop at the playground on the way back
as a huge orange sun sets
reflected in the glass windows of an apartment block...
back at home
i shake off my slothfulness for an hour or so
clean out the aquarium
it's been about six months since the last time i did it
it's pretty dirty
and i don't want the new plants i've bought for it
to go the same way as the old ones
i don't believe in keeping animals in captivity
but the guy we inherited these little underwater friends from
started talking about flushing them down the toilet
my conscience got pricked
i didn't have much choice!...

planning a family excursion tomorrow
a train ride into kangwon province
some fresh country air
some peace and quiet
hard to find in sk
hope the weather holds...