there are things about you that are almost unbearably
good, like how when you say ‘sphinx’ – to describe the way the cat
rests upright over your arms – you merge a ‘c’ with the ‘sph’
sound so that it is almost germanic, as though you were saying
the word ‘sphincter’ with a textural emphasis – sphincter is indeed
not a casual word – (both words come from sphingein, meaning
‘bound tightly’ – though not, it would seem, from german but from
latin via greek – and this is a very nice connection to discover here)
or – and this is a sensual choice to make – you say the word
‘demon’ with a small thuddy ‘d’ on the end, as though it were
too much a temptation not to echo the nub of ‘almond’,
itself a nicely finished sound, a plug, a stop, a cork.
