Tigress of the Shrubland (1) We agreed that Janice would become the most tigress of the lot of us. “Most tigress,” that was Beagle’s term, age six.medium.com He turned out at a chimney, like some unholy St. Nick. It was a warm evening, so the fire was not lit, but his coming startled the maid who was taking up a carpet to be beaten. …

Tigress of the Shrubland (1) We agreed that Janice would become the most tigress of the lot of us. “Most tigress,” that was Beagle’s term, age six.medium.com A symphony of flowers fluttered for miles in sea winds, impossibly close, incongruously splendid, a clash of environments suited to dreams. Scarcely did the sand terminate but the meadows commenced. …

Part 1 I thought you had forgotten me. And now I have made you wait so long, I imagine you thought that I had forgotten you. Do you know the difference between poetry and philosophy? …

Tigress of the Shrubland (1) We agreed that Janice would become the most tigress of the lot of us. “Most tigress,” that was Beagle’s term, age six.medium.com Tigress of the Shrubland (9) We were very far indeed from the stony land of my arrival, and the bird knew of no entrance to the underground. But it…medium.com He lightly strokes a wrinkled map, lets his finger continue along the wall, pauses, stares at the city through a dusty window, and lets his arm fall. A sigh that betokens the next life crackles through him. …

Tigress of the Shrubland (1) We agreed that Janice would become the most tigress of the lot of us. “Most tigress,” that was Beagle’s term, age six.medium.com Tigress of the Shrubland (8) I awoke in a place that, precisely by its calm and beauty, set me ill at ease.medium.com We were very far indeed from the stony land of my arrival, and the bird knew of no entrance to the underground. But it knew the way to Janice.

“Lie with me.” She stretched, arching her wrists over the sofa arm. The trees through the window tossed fitfully in the grey air. “I’m going for a walk.” Her mouth became a rosebud with the center torn out. “In this?” He was already halfway gone. He pulled a coat over…

There is nothing more conducive to the development of an obsession with minutiae than dwelling with another human being. Sundry persons of dubious qualification, the Marie Kondos and Jordan Petersons, would like the public to know that it is of vital importance that they keep their living spaces “clean and…

Scraps of dust fled Paul’s boots as he mounted the bend and paused on a level portion of trail. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Tough plants gripped the dry soil at the fringes. The sun caustic, the drop over a hundred feet. Hund’s pawdrops turned him. He smiled…

Tigress of the Shrubland (1) We agreed that Janice would become the most tigress of the lot of us. “Most tigress,” that was Beagle’s term, age six.medium.com Tigress of the Shrubland (7) I awoke to the rainlike hum of creatures murmuring, but the curious matter was that I understood them.medium.com I awoke in a place that, precisely by its calm and beauty, set me ill at ease. No orchard in my land held such a compressed variety, apple beside orange beside pear beside mango, including a great deal that I could not identify. The air was rich with the fragrance…