Not so long after dawn, the looming light
is nostalgia for the sea in a landlocked country
until there it is across the tree-studded field,
returning colour like repaying a debt.
The line advances, it’s pushing back.
Things change overnight and the sun hits
straight across the building sites.
But then, at the end of the lane,
there is always some hope,
some shop that’s always open –
the prognosis for other futures.
Beyond the doorway and the window,
life sprawls exactly as it’s always done
and there’s the kettle and this is the view.Image: Marina Shiderova; text: Tom Phillips
