Only Cotton

                                                                                     Children picking cotton

Dear reader, 

I see that we have another very hot week coming up.  Global warming is upon us, we can't just watch the news of floods, fire and heat waves, somewhere else, they have come here too. And of course we now have a drought. For my own part I wasn't constructed to face the heat so it is another week indoors with the curtains drawn all day, and lots of watching wild places and wild animals from BBC iplayer. I have discovered that the animal kingdom's life styles, which I didn't know before,  is so like us human beings..  They squabble amongst themselves, have a romantic mating rituals, fight over food, look after each other especially mothers and young, and mourn their dead in some species, in particular in elephants.   

                                                                                     *

Sea gulls have been annoying people again and, indeed, attacked a woman from behind and drew blood from her head when she was walking about minding her own business.  The gulls are getting more aggressive and I think something ought to be done about their numbers.  When I was in Lyme Regis last year there seemed to be so many of them.  In fact notices were up asking the public not to feed them, but how successful this was I don't know.  I forgive them because I love their cry.

                                                                                   *

From Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1877, August 8th in Devon

'Pretty farmyard - thatch casting sharp shadow on white-wash in the sun, and a village rising beyond, all in a comb; sharp shadows, bright clouds; sea striped with purple,'

From John Ruskin, 1872, August 13th, in Berkshire

Entirely calm and clear morning.  The mist from the river at rest among the trees, with rosy light on it folds of blue;and I, for the first time these ten years, happy.'

                                                                                      *

Only Cotton

In the Southern Punjab
the sun scorches, the insects hum,
small pieces of cotton
fill the air,
whirl, suffocate, poison.
Aruni and Paloma, ten and twelve,
bend and pick, bend and pick,
hour after hour.
Scratches on their arms
scab and bleed,
their heads ache,
their vision blurs,
their drinking water bottles
contaminated with lethal spray.
At dusk they crawl home.
At dawn they start another day.

                      *
Mrs. Anne Hudson-Berry
selects a cool cotton dress,
adorns herself,
hails a taxi,
has lunch at the Ritz.

                                                                         *

Very best wishes, Patricia

My memoir: 'Half a Pair of People' is available now on Amazon.  Put in Patrica Huth and you will see the front cover of the book and the reviews.