Shelly Bryant

On my way back to Singapore from Shanghai this past weekend, I had a little delay at the airport.  It was not nearly as long a delay as some of my previous experiences with this same airline, but certainly quite long enough.

I did find there was a good side to the deal, though, which almost made up for the achy body and lack of sleep once I got to Singapore (though I don’t  think the friends who were waiting for me at the airport will agree that the good side was worth their wasted time).  The good bit was that I finished most of A Yi’s book 《下面，我该干些什么》, which was a  very gripping read.  And I made some headway in Tony Harrison’s Selected Poems.  I even came across one of his poems that dealt with one of my current obsessions, the Vulcan myth.  (That obsession is evidenced by my reading agenda for this year.)  It was one of those poems that made me think, “Why didn’t I write that.”

As I said, it doesn’t exactly make up for the inconveniences caused by the delay, but if you are the sort who likes to look on the bright side of things, I think this qualified as more than just a tiny glimmer.  At least for me.