the corridor dim

when: any hour, after dark· where: one wall sconce· colour temp: 2200 K

one sconce, halfway down. it has been turned to its lowest setting by a hand more interested in conservation than in visibility. the corridor dim is what is left of light, in a corridor, after that hand.

it reveals about three feet of carpet on either side of itself, the lower edge of a door frame, the brass of a doorknob if the door is shut. it makes the floor a small lake. you stand in the lake and beyond the lake you cannot be quite sure what the house contains.

it hides the far end, the near end, and the hornlight if there is one. it does not pretend the corridor is short. it admits that the corridor is the length of the corridor, and offers only this small pool by which to cross it.

field note · between two rooms the corridor dim is the most economical of named lights — it is what remains when a household has decided to be no more hospitable than it has to be. it is more honest than the kitchen yellow; less honest than the moonless light. see also corridor hare.