Relationships are strange things: elastic, br Inexorable. Meshing graceful flesh br Or mingling minds- br Lovers or friends br Fantastic or commonplace. br br One week there is fire and so much meeting- br Spells and magic spill into what is fleeting, br Is ordinary. Talk comes fresh bubbling. br There’s a dash of sun in the hours’ brief flare. br A phone rings, an e mail pings, little joys sing, br There is grace in the pace of the day, br In the fashioning of small things. br br Then when a glow seems nicely burning, br Warming: it’s off at the source. br Power cut. Or comes juddering br Sporadic, erratic. And who can tell why br Or where the electrical fault is br Or whether indeed there is one at all. br But the bulb is flickering, shuddering. br Darknesses last. Silences jut into minutes. br Fire becomes ash. br Doors shut or do not open so often br br And suddenly br the everyday br is grey again.