when it is quiet like this
I wander around down here
just walk and do not touch anything
look at each object as if it is an exhibit
in a gallery or a museum
I start from the lift –
pause and sit in my usual chair
examine the other green and yellow chairs – two each
take in the curve-sided coffee table
that always has the same magazines
that could rapidly become museum pieces
the cracks in the paintwork of the sliding door
a form of instant art – Pollock or Dada
I call this The Basement School
that includes the artificial pot plant –
when I turn a corner
there is a picture on a wall of boats on a shoreline
placed so the people who sit underneath cannot see it –
this I instantly name The Unseen School
the futuristic scanner in its own room
becomes a sculpture called the white donut –
satisfied I sit down again in my usual chair
name it yellow chair one and the others
yellow chair two and yellow chair three
and go on like this with the two green chairs
James Bell is Scottish and now lives in France where he contributes non-fiction to an English language journal. He has published two poetry collections the just vanished place (2008) and fishing for beginners (2010) and continues to publish widely and regularly with ekphrastic journals such as Nine Muses Poetry and Visual Verse. His short fiction, like his poetry, appears in print and online.
Sparks of Calliope 