by JO WHITELAW
squeaky front gate
and uneven stone path
to verandah steps –
the back doorknob rattling
as it welcomes me home
- Childhood home, Yallourn North, VIC
air thick and hot
as echoes close around me
a sign ‘do not run’
yet my heart tells me to flee
the sound of lapping water
- Indoor swimming pool. Anywhere
a thousand feet tread
while greedy eyes devour
the marble wonder…
a shrine to love standing
amid poverty and dust
- Taj Mahal, Agra, India