Objects : Lamp

The lamp is solitary. It stands in a pale room where the light drifts in from the south. The lamp is not used very often. It stands between a set of bookshelves and an armchair. In the summer time, by the time it is dark enough to need a lamp, for reading, say, or handiwork, the people are tired and turn the television on instead. In winter, when it is cold and dark outside, they sit down earlier. Trying to peer at instructions, someone turns the lamp on and the light peeps over their shoulders so that their hands cast useless shadows on the thing they are trying to see. They turn the lamp off. It is easier to see without it. So the lamp stands in its corner, behind the chair and out of the way, alone and unused.