Connections

I was walking back
This late afternoon
From Christina’s studio where
I’d scanned
Laboriously
Work
That I’d done for a magazine

The scanner
Was artist placed
That’s awkward
And
Impossible to reach
So
Each image was at an angle
(I had to kneel to do this)
And also
Because
And probably everything because
I couldn’t make out application menus in French

I was punching buttons
Hoping that sense
Would bare fruitful function
From generic tools
But no
And I got annoyed
My irritation
Reverberating from the walls

Then I thought
I’ll just photograph these pages
Do these later
Or tomorrow
Borrow
A digital camera
It’ll look better anyway
And I can get out of there
Although
It had all been a complete waste of time

Walking back then
I’m thinking about
The wasted time
And how it can be saved
Doing it like this
With words
Dying
Assured

Then Angel calls
(That’s Gabriel)
Calling cautions to his dog
Scattering about through Paris
And I ask him if he has a camera
And his partner does
Michaela

And I’m wondering whether
I might be a nuisance
They have a baby
And on the way
To the house
He calls
To ask
That maybe
Because things are a little chaotic
That maybe
(I’m just outside the house)
That maybe
I should arrive in half an hour

So I go to the corner
Not enough Euros in my wallet
After the banana
And the nuts
The bar won’t take my card for a single drink
So I walk past
Once or twice
Dawdling this
In my head
And walk off to the bank
Walking
Thinking
I’m walking too much
And as this goes down
I think
I’m thinking
That I’m denigrating this project
To save wasted time
Wasting more time
Over this
But Christina calls
And says she’s glad
That I’d picked up her charger