"Do Not Take This"

This afternoon, on my way to the park for lunch I came across a note on the ground. It was written boldly on a piece of lined note paper and it read:

Do Not Take This

It took my fancy. At first I walked on. Twenty paces on I turned to check it out again. I returned to pick it up.

There was nothing written on the back. I didn't show any marks, tears or other signs that it may have, at one time, been attached to something.

It is quite astounding how much story this paper could have behind it. What was wasn't supposed to be taken? Has it been taken or did it just blow off? Come to think of it, why was something on the street moveable enough to require a note such as this? Maybe the note has been picked up by a pernicious child and the guarded object is now naked with nothing to shield it from passing magpies? Do magpies live in London (I think not)? Perhaps it is simply an elaborate "candid camera" style set up.

Whatever is going on, it is satisfying to contemplate the elaborate journey this note and its mystery master have travelled (and are still travelling).

It put me in mind of this poem by William Hughes Mearns:

Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today
I wish that man would go away.
Antigonish, 1899

I like the history of this poem. It has so drifted into Western consciousness that it was only recently attributed to the author. Until then most people though it an ancient nursery rhyme. That is an impressive achievement if you ask me.

Then again, I'm not here.

Tags: London