Souls

The poet Lamartine asked:
Objets inanimés, avez-vous donc une âme?

Yes, this inanimate object does have a soul. For one, it's a member of an endangered species, which must cause it to experience more than a little nostalgia at times. Then its coat is touchingly amateurish, splashy and cracked, though it retains its plucky pillar-box red-ishness against all odds. But most soulfully of all, it still talks to us as it always did, in defiance of our addiction to all things digital. Look at the little metal plate indicating WED. Those little metal plates aren't automated. They have to be slotted in manually. Today is Wednesday: someone who clearly cares for this pillar-box makes sure it's up to date and is keeping its soul alive.