Sup pea and ham soup in Town Hall Café,
First meal out indoors since January
Twenty Twenty. Things have changed in small ways.
As ever in Lampeter soft rain falls.
Sainsbury’s car park machine now cashless.
My debit card soaked as I stand and tap.
Hardware store still haphazard as ever,
With screened social distanced one way system.
We’ve no coins for supermarket trolley,
Seems a lifetime since I spent real money.
Jolly café hubbub strangely subdued,
Reverential cappuccino coffee,
Sipped whisperly, hushed tones, as if in church.
We buy takeaway cakes to eat at home.

Harry Rogers, In The Red Bedroom, 24th May 2021.