the post office in the earl's court road

the post office in the 
earl’s court road
is not
a place 
for
a hurry

come not here in a fret or a flutter or
eager
to wing your most urgent missive to a lover, or to
dispatch
a parcel of import to a man already impatient in
downtown manhattan

think not
in a moment
to flit in and out
like a breeze, like a
butterfly on a frolic
to pick up a form D1 and maybe drop off
a card of
congratulations
to your aunt
in kolkata (who’s getting married
for the first time, you’re pleased,
at an age little short of
seventy-eight)

no

come here
to 
ease
away
the 
rush
of the day

experience here
time
standing still

relish
for an hour or so
(or so it feels)
what it feels like
for 
nothing
to 
happen
at all

relax
into the 
zone
where 
things do not
move
or if they do they do so
slowly

be content with the gift
of
being
as you watch
friendly figures behind glass
peeling labels
off foils and
gently
appending them to
envelopes marked
‘large’

see 
with what
deliberation
a fact such as that that an envelope is 
‘large’
is established as hands
in slow-motion
slide said envelope through a size guide
backwards and forwards
just to make sure

chuckle
inside 
as just when you thought
a number is about to flash up to call someone forward
that position at the counter now gets
deserted
and instead of three out of nine being open
there are now
only two:
let it 
warm
the cockles of your heart and sense that
glow of 
generosity 
as you say to yourself:
‘a cup of tea now
that will be nice. good for her.’

as coins are carefully counted and 
bubble bags weighed
and forms filled in
in front of you far far ahead in the queue
let your mind
wander, let it
expand
into the farthest spheres of existence itself and
contemplate
how 
wondrous it is
that in a world so
obsessed
with now
you now 
have a now
that may well last
forever

so 
come to the post office in the earl’s court road
and 
enjoy 
while you can

eternity

here
for a while




listen to the post office on the earl's court road on soundcloud