Another Power cut

It happened again this afternoon. I’d made a late lunch. I’d just finished a language lesson. I was trying to send an email but the wireless connection failed. Even more telling, I could hear a neighbour’s alarm, like before when a local power cut had occurred.

The same panic struck me. The fear of starving and of getting abandoned in the dark and the late autumn chill. Visions of hunger.

Plus, anger.

I hurried out, hoping to get a warm sandwich, but the electricity in the local bakery had failed – so I ordered vegan chocolate cake and coffee but then discovered I couldn’t pay as the card reader had lost the Internet connection due to the power cut. (The lady kindly allowed me to make up the difference next time I go in).

In the supermarket, I stocked up on snacks before returning home, subdued. About forty minutes later, the electricity came back on before cutting out again, leaving me unsettled and even more annoyed.

It’s on now, but I worry another power cut will occur. Last year, I wrote a poem based on one of several power cuts. I reproduce it here, to capture some of the uncertainty and fear:

quarter past nine at night
an audio click
and then darkness

the display on the clock has vanished
no electricity
silence

torchlight and internet

despite the stillness the house breathes
a heartbeat barely noticeable
outside sounds come and go
ebbing away like the sea