Snowflakes surprise us,small and aimless as we ourselves,so light they sift upwardsin random puppetry. Yesterday we arrived in Englandon the edge of April.Workers in orange suitshad de-iced the plane in Chicago. As we’d changed planesin Dublin, yellow hoses uncoiledon juddering machi

for the night, we decidewe must go nowwhile we can. New York is sinking,we go to Pompei,itself a reminderthat nothing is permanent. Vesuvius erupted yesterday,volcanic ash blanchingthe air above Naples. At the airport, we rent a car,and suddenly we can smellthe sea, feel distended lig