the square has not yet been occupied by the day. the cafes have not yet set out their chairs. the pigeons are still asleep in their arrangements, or somewhere being themselves. the stones are cold and visibly so.
one chair has been left out from yesterday. it is not where it belongs and no one yet has the authority to move it. the long shadows of the facades are stretching out across the paving and will retract before the first footstep arrives. the light is doing the careful work of being a morning.
field note: the square is not empty. it never is. it is between two crowds, briefly itself.
steam vent · pigeons · phone box · four a.m.