for David Blunkett and Hazel Blears

               Quand reverrai-je, hélas, de mon petit village
               Fumer la cheminée . . .

"Pauvre maison" multiplied comes
down to Modernity slumming;
put the community back in "progra
m" then, pixels for vistas, we can all join in

Total environment: the information
dimension; flat-packed living space
with colour enhancement for global dimming
– Our resolution; nobody's loss

At its concrete edge the culture
throws a tarmac lifeline to caravan
and trailer over threadbare scrub:

sovereign the Nation of Elgar and Stubbs;
position; trade and maritime traditions;
a unique obsession with the love of dogs