Truth Modern

                                                                         A Garden Gnome


Dear Reader,

In the Renaissance the gnome was a magical and diminutive spirit, first introduced in the l6th century by Paracelsus, the Swiss German philosopher, and later adopted by modern fantasy literature.  The gnome is generally thought to be a small humanoid that lives underground.


However I understand, sadly,  that the Garden Gnome has become an endangered species in Britain.  He is no longer welcome to adorn our gardens or cheer us up.  There has been, apparently, a huge fall in sales.  The Garden Gnome was invented in l9th-century Germany, and introduced to Britain in 1847 by Sir Charles Edmund Isham, a renowned gardener.  But the love affair between gnomes and the British peaked in the l970s after those who manufactured them changed their look, dressing them in daft costumes.  I think having a gnome in your garden was/is a bit "tacky" or even sinister or "naff", and 94% of people asked said "they would never have a gnome in their garden".  But for those of us who secretly quite like gnomes, we can take heart because there is new breed of giant gnomes being made to come out this summer, and one of them is shaped as the Queen.

                                                                           *

Truth Modern


Through a kaleidoscope's
shifting, bright colours,
set close to the eye,
the viewer's truth is reflected,
assuring the mind of its veracity,
acknowledging its fantasies
as realities,
seeing truth
not as it is, but as we would
like it to be,
spinning words,
detaching truth from its moorings,
setting it loose in murky waters.
Illusions of truth
sandwiched between lies
is the authentic truth
of our times.

                                                                           *

Very best wishes,  Patricia