“A
dream in retreat”
Who
lives here?

In
this house with
The
smoky roof
The
gravel-sand
The
metal gate
The
barking dog
And
wooden door
Come
out on a
Whitened
horse
And
grow from five to twenty-five
In a
matter of
Seconds,
seconds
She
lives here
With
the pearly mouth
In
the Lagos sun
With
a strawy hat
Her
face, a place of
Fading
skies
The
birth of the universe
Foretold
in her eyes
She
comes and goes
 In the dead of the night
And
I am left with
An
inkling
The
mere smoke of love
In
dreams:
We
touch and talk
Of
home
And
dare to speak
Of
being whole
The
father in one
Room,
while in another
My
brother, sister and sister
Are
mum
We
dodge them all
To
run the roost
Till
we can make
This
heart, a roof
In
dreams
I
retreat into
This
place
This
silent, squeaking
Spirit
of Grace
And
live for
Moments,
tops of
Mountains,
clear
Views
of space
To
wake up, step
To
step, from her gate
Going
and coming and being
At
home.