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Paula Green

Early

Early intervention
Simone de Beauvoir is measuring time with each sip of tea. She is
listening to National Radio on the front deck. Kathryn Ryan is
interviewing Fiona Farrell.

Early history
Plato has finally got around to polishing his shoes. It has taken him
so long his cup of tea has gone cold—the milk forms a little scum
around the rim. He can see his reflection in the luminous black.
Soon it will be time to tip the tea down the sink and swap his good
shoes for his walking shoes.

Early morning
Copernicus still finds joy in cooking in a foreign kitchen in a foreign
country in a foreign time. He made Bircher muesli the night before
and a large bowl of fruit salad when the birds started singing.
Without knowing why he bursts into a fit of laughter. His body
heaving. Tears running down his face. Silliness in small doses, he
says, thinking of Horace.

Early signs
Like Winnie the Pooh, you think it is time for a little something. A
brain wave, perhaps.

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Early learning
Jane Austen is an unexpected guest for breakfast. She favours
toast and marmalade at this hour. From silence it is an easy step to
politics.

Early years
Horace is sitting next to Jane Austen. He has his eye on her poached
egg. He has his eye on the Bircher muesli. He is always ready to seize
the day.

Early edition
Sylvia Plath is sitting next to Horace with her back to the kitchen. She
is scribbling a poem between the lines of an article on Egyptian riots
in the New Zealand Herald.