A Night in a Boyhood Home by John Grey

After long hours at the kitchen table,

telling more tales than Scheherazade,

instinct takes over,

turning crooked fence, spotty lawn,

into moon moored to a break in the clouds,

the scattered houselights up the hill. 

That’s it.  We’ve caught up.

The past’s invasion of the suburbs is complete.

I’m not thinking. Just doing.

Up the stairs. A gargle of spring water.

Old bed, old banners, old wallpaper.

Falling asleep like a child.

There is no other way.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Sin Fronteras, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.