“Tear it. Tear it right down the middle. See how it feels,” he said. The man in the overcoat looked down at the dollar bill. Why shouldn’t he? “Oh never mind,” said the man with the red scarf, picking at his gums. “Forget it.” The taxi pulled up in front of a park and stopped by the curb. It was raining and the cab smelt like cigarettes and leather. The man in...

‘Any way you lie You have pissed your life’ – William Carlos Williams ‘Fac tibi proponas mortem non esse timendam quae bona si non est, finis tamen illa malorum est’ – Dicta Catonis The glass of wine is heavy in his hand; the bath is warm. The candles he’d so delicately matched cast a soft light, mottling with the matching shadows in that wonderful blend – not too bright, not too bright and gaudy and not too dark, too murky – a simply wonderful, gentle reddened glow to illuminate the understated class he felt his life should have. He inhales the steam, breathes lavender and views with that warm sense of achievement a man can only share with himself his model sepulchre. It is nothing flashy, not vulgar but it is very special. The towels are neatly folded and the police will f...