Since you've been
gone I've been
on retreat, so
to speak.
Now a gunshot
echoes through the
still morning air.
Corellas scatter.
My Mingus morning
bothers no-one. It
heightens the silence that
wraps itself around these
empty rooms. Piano
trills run through
my breakfast steam
as our dog sits
where your feet
should be. You
left the camera
behind - I won't take
photos of things
you know so well.
The flautist plays
with tambourines
on his feet to
embellish the beat,
as you wear
that chunky neck-
lace to lift
your heart. A
white cabbage moth
flies to the window
and calls us out.
I open the gate
and look down
the road.
Andrew Burke is an Australian writer with a dozen books to his credit, a clutch of stories in literary magazines, POETICA programs on ABC - in fact, he has written and published everything from Black & Gold labels to a novel.