Perhaps isidia and soredia from 鈥渕y鈥 patch of windowsill lichen were present in the air that Darwin and Edmonstone breathed as they walked to and from their residences on Lothian Street. Who knows? Maybe their exhalations carried strands of lichen to new anchorages in the stony canyons formed by the tenements 鈥
Bio:
Chris Arthur is an Irish essayist currently based in St Andrews, Scotland. His eighth book of essays, Hidden Cargoes, was published in October (www.chrisarthur.org).