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Spaces and Boundaries

The Scent of Home

By Shobha GallagherPublished 4 years ago 1 min read
Image by Love Art. Live Art from Pixabay

Cold chicken served in mid-air flight

lies swollen on my plate

untouched by the flaming spices

of a steaming Indian meal.

Memories skid and slide

trembling on the rim of wakeful sleep

slithering in cords

somewhere deep

beneath those nimbus sheets -

seeking warm, sweet soils…

And yes, Canada, the vast new expanse

that spreads coast to coast…

In spring glow-greens with rising birds.

Bikes that skitter on white-lined paths.

The orange and russets of golden months

The last glory of flaring days…

Before - the white bleach out.

The first touch of confetti flakes

gliding, melting, softer than an angel’s kiss.

White on whites, flashing whites.

The longing for the blazing eastern sun

Gold-n-gold…dancing dazzles in rays

Winter sadness fossilized in ice…

Unthawed.

I search for that embrace

in neighbours pinned to TV sets…

Washing cars to squeaky clean.

All in place, no creases there.

The houses stand squared in, so to say

Where are the people behind those drapes

What do they do, what do they think?

What are their dreams?

Eyes that do not rest long

in another’s eyes

In case soul meets soul

across fenced-in realms

The scent of home warms the freeze.

I seek your secret soul

in the veins of a maple leaf

I try to pluck it from a chipmunk

scuttling with peanuts

swelling in both his cheeks.

Perhaps he hides it in small deep holes…

Where is the heave, the passion…

the breath?

And who am I to comment?

My roots dig deep in another land

Splintered with crisis of another kind.

How can I judge?

How dare I speak!

I do not belong…but do you too?

Isn’t it time to reach out, mate

Over the walls and across the space?

surreal poetry

About the Creator

Shobha Gallagher

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