Drifting along, as if
all time was his to waste,
he accumulated years
in the form of diaries.
Each was a log of appointments,
books and CDs purchased,
places he had visited,
the ticked-off birthdays of friends.
Twelve years passed, and to his surprise
he was twelve years older,
twelve kilos heavier,
twelve hundred books and CDs wiser.
‘It was that or the void’ he reassured himself.
Norman Jope
Illustration Nick Victor