The front door creaks open — stillness interrupted — heavy footsteps cross the threshold, the waft of body odour displacing fresh air, a familiar voice can be heard,

[A Longette by guest poet Mimmalisa Trifilò]

barely audible grunts on the other side of a line, barging into the home …
He enters and leaves; he comes and he goes. Could’ve at least told me when you’d be back!
Toilet seat raised — no negotiation — grey hair left behind on the flimsy comb
Silence hovers, permeates the space, feelings unleashed and forgotten every day

A home-cooked meal, steaming hot on the table — love, care — a peripatetic schedule;
with satisfied smirks, sighs, full-belly belches, the working man speaks in dollars
Why converse, laugh, sing and dance with the children? He will work, drink, subjugate and rule
Why address the woman by his side, rely on others? No, he can fly solo

A brooding, burly, blazing man — submits to the beast inside, easily provoked
Circumnavigating the house, explosions pre-empted, embers catch at footfall
How to sneak ’round this fire likely to turn on us — poked, stoked, ferocious — moody bloke
Best obey, be invisible, no blue flames to evade, only kindling and ash 

A hearth but no heart — the patriarch all manual labour, large hands, muscle and bones
No room for dreams — focus on purpose, get through the day — battle heatwaves, pouring rain
Churn out children, coax them to achieve, command them to co-operate, clones of clones 
History comes, goes, circles us through — spontaneous visits from the homeland, too

Snap, crack and whip, voices raised, bright red crosses raining over us — night and day
Seek out dawn, play against feeling small amidst giants — head in book, story to tell
Acrid smoke haze, infiltrating our minds — clouds and feelings: wafting in, gone astray
Let go of fear, thick, held within the breath, invite spring’s floral breeze — let it inside
Shift, tilt, now whisper myself a song — seek out other footsteps to walk alongside

[Photo by Mimmalisa Trifilò]