A Gathering

i’ve crossed over to the neighbourhood compost bin / arms full of stale bread and brown bananas // there was a time i’d magic a rich pudding or sweet sticky loaf onto the kitchen table / but my lustre limped off long ago like a tailless lizard // i can’t muster the energy to push on / push back / so i pass on what’s left to those who still care

later / from my grey window / i watch others come and go / a car tyre lies in wait for rain / children gather branches / for firewood or dens? // they’ve painted the old brick wall the colour of heaven / and in the centre a kind of god / in lethal gold / multi-limbed with alligator claws and dichoptic all-seeing eyes

the tyre will gather dust and despair before it gathers rain / such is the drought we now carry / and more will come and go / offering bread and branches / to a painted deity