Life on the screen with back-up and the likelihood
of suddenly unreal time. So I put in for
a one year tour remembering this neighbourhood
like a foreign land. With crows edgy along
the roof ridge. A few of them dreaming demons
into an empty sky. Evenings they struggle to
hold on as plans fill with static so crackly you get
to learn one drill after another till the job
lies down – not a bit how it was when the streets were
a flickering pale blue drama I could never
play a part in. Here in this dazzling city there are
rooms for only one. Which feels familiar,
though the birds are coloured and my correspon-
dence more devious. Money of course is
what it is – is money. Seems I’m wondering less
the quicker the days go how to rewind a life.
Peter Dent
Illustration Nick Victor