Made warm draughts in the open car.
Signposts whitened relentlessly.
Montrueil, Abbéville, Beauvais
Were promised, promised, came and went,
Each place granting its name's fulfilment.
A combine groaning its way late
Bled seeds across its work-light.
A forest fire smouldered out.
One by one small cafés shut.
I thought of you continuously
A thousand miles south where Italy
Laid its loin to France on the darkened sphere.
Your ordinariness was renewed there.
The final line echoes the opening line, creating a cyclical pattern. But “ordinariness”, when “renewed”, is no longer ordinary.  So, there is a sub-text relating to the nature of relationships — the fluctuations, growth, diminution, changes — and ultimate renewal.  The final line is moving in its understatement
Night Drive