I wasn’t all that excited about my birthday until my presents started arriving. Then I remembered that birthdays are very cool.

My first present is a treasure hunt that lasts until my birthday.

This email arrived on the 9th of December

You’re ours now up until and including the 23^rd Dec. You are always allowed 48 hours to complete your mission.

·         Some of your missions will be easy.

·         Some will take a little effort.

·         Naturally you’ll like some more than others

Stay tuned, Grasshopper.

Mission 1

So the problem with setting me a mission is that sometimes I forget to check my mail.

But I checked it and found this card. Very exciting.

My instructions

1. Go to the website 8tracks.com
2. On the right hand side pick a tag that you would normally not listen to. Click it.
3. Pick one of the playlists and listen to at least 4 songs. You can skip a song within the playlist but you must listen to four songs of that list (or more).

I chose Walk the Walk, sexy, strut, walking baddass. You can’t really get further away from Cath Street with those tags. But I really liked the songs so maybe I am secretly a sexy, strut-walking baddass. Unlikely. But I listened to them while I read about Pablo Neruda and it was a strangely right mix.

These were the songs I found

1. Gold Dust (Flux Pavillion Remix) DJ Fresh
2. 15 Step Radiohead (I do like a bit of Radiohead but I haven’t listened to this one before)
3. The Bird Cage chanes
4. Hot Right Now (Bassnectar Remix) Bassnectar

Mission 2

This email came

In your letter box you’ll find a bag filled with lines and single words from various poems by Pablo Neruda.  You must create a new poem from these fragments.  You must use at least three lines and three of the single words from the bag but you can add as many of your own words around them as you like.

I haven’t done this mission yet. I have 48 hours. I’ve spent today remembering how much I love Pablo Neruda’s poetry. I’ve been hunting for these lines and finding ones I’d forgotten about or never known. I write because of the way he uses words. I won’t ever write like him but at least I can stand under his poems and look up at the words and wish.

THE STOLEN BRANCH

Pablo Neruda

In the night we shall go in

to steal a flowering branch.
*
We shall climb over the wall

in the darkness of the alien garden,

two shadows in the shadow.

Winter is not yet gone,

and the apple tree appears

suddenly changed

into a cascade of fragrant stars.

*

In the night we shall go in

up to its trembling firmament,

and your little hands and mine

will steal the stars.

And silently,

to our house,

in the night and the shadow,

with your steps will enter

perfume’s silent step

and with starry feet

the clear body of spring.

My other presents…

My friend, Di, framed my beautiful  ’Till the heart caves in’ drawn by Michael Zavros. I love the frame she chose but I think what I love more is how much she was taken by the picture. I’m glad I could give it to her to stare at for a little while.

This necklace with trees and butterflies and grass on it.

A 2012 diary with a bird on the cover. And a box to fill. I really like boxes.

An empty notebook.

I really like filling notebooks.

For my birthday so far I have birds and empty boxes and a reminder that I have a whole year ahead – (for now) unfilled. But already I know that it has a bird on the cover.  It could (quite possibly) be full of strutting (slightly) badass things and heart-cavings that are good enough to frame. There will be hunts for things that I don’t know about (yet). There will be empty notebooks to fill. And there will be words and clay moonlight. And I will get to stand beneath both of them.