I have been talking of Bernard, Neville, Jinny,
Susan, Rhoda andLouis. The moment was all; the moment was enough. Yes, this isthe
eternal renewal, the incessant rise and fall and fall and riseagain. I have seen
clouds coverthe stars, then free the stars, then cover the stars again. I likeall
this when I have despatched the enemy for a moment.
When the lock whitened on her forehead she twisted
it fearlesslyamong the rest.
She who had refused Percival lent herself to this,
to this coveringover. The earth absorbs colour like a spongeslowly drinking
water.
It is true, he washes his hands before dinner, but
they arestill hairy. The woods had vanished; the earth was a waste of
shadow.
We have been taking into our mouths the bodies
ofdead birds. I likeall this when I have despatched the enemy for a
moment.
Must I for ever, I said, beat my spoon on the
table-cloth? I leant my head back and was swathed in a sheet. No soundbroke the
silence of the wintry landscape.
He buttons on trousers and waistcoats, but
theycontain the same organs.
That knife is alreadycongealing with grease. Here
are chairs turned but nobody sits on them. It is strange that we, who are capable of
so much suffering,should inflict so much suffering. Yet I cannot find any
obstacleseparating us. Lightfloods the room and drives shadow beyond shadow to where
they hangin folds inscrutable. And if she suddenly gets up and goes, Mydear, I say,
you no longer make me look after you. Time has giventhe arrangement another shake.