When the power went down
My Rayburn still burned oil
To cook and boil, as layers of snow settled
Mutely white on the treetops,
Until the branches snapped beneath the weight
Of too much frozen water
To make logs for later.
I carried flasks of tea to elders
Cut off without warmth
Or a fibre optic phone call;
Backup mobile batteries
Failed to find invisible networks
While the broadband was elsewhere
In a place beyond helplines.
My outdated landline
Received power outage updates
In the absence of other news,
While our vulnerabilities flapped about us
Like tatty coats in the slow cold
Of twenty-four hours.
