I get back up from my chair and bend down to finally pick up the breakfast bowl, looking at the dried tissue inside it while I walk to the kitchen. I throw the tissue in the bin and then place the bowl in the sink before turning to become transfixed by the sunlight passing through the blinds of the window, which cast shimmering shadows to dance on the brown vinyl floor.

I'm caught within the interplay of light and shadow, of light and darkness, as my mind drifts and my thoughts become lost. Slowly the sound of leaves rustling in the wind fade up from the silence as the shadows grow darker on the floor below while I search desperately for the will to start the day, in this world in which I stand, right here in Smethwick.

7/7