Unfortunate Son

• Lachlan Cumming, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2007

Darkness hit with such profound clarity
And he stumbled away from his old reality
Past beards and blankets, fires in bins
Figures huddled under weeping moleskins
Weaving his way through smoke filled stacks
To leap once more over metaphorical tracks
Familiar suburbia tried to shut its gate
His appearance inducing barriers of hate
He stared in wonder across the moonlit road
And awake dreamed it was still his abode
With warm-washed walls embracing life
Dancing smiles, and laughter rife
The image blurred with thickening sleet
And he turned away for his final retreat
A smile flickered across his distant eyes
As the train screamed over his last goodbyes