I love this street
one that I've called home for twenty three years
I've watched the mango and neem trees grow
and welcome monkeys, bats and cicadas
I wake up to the call of a purple sunbird
I listen to the song of a grey-bellied cuckoo
in the afternoon, a hornbill's screech surprises us all
while a black kite soars in the sky
there's a tailorbird in the coconut tree
invisible, but it makes itself known
today is a good day for
a duet with a chirping squirrel
in the evening, when the wind blows
stray gulmohar flowers and
white jasmine cover the ground
as do the seeds of the copperpod tree
oh, how I love that street
and how well I know it
and its inhabitants, including
hesitant shrews and nocturnal frogs
but far away, in another country
I am getting to know a new street
I am learning its secrets and surprises
and the life it holds
here, I wake up to the call of the blackbird
and the twittering of robins
I watch magpies hop on the ground
and sparrowhawks circle above
the sweet smell of jasmine
is now replaced with the strong scent of hyacinths
the tabebuia and jacaranda trees
are recoloured in magnolia and cherry blossom
everything that I defined as home
the soundscapes, the enchantment, the familiarity
have now taken on a new meaning
and my boundaries have expanded
I find myself falling in love
unexpectedly and a little hesitantly
looking for signs that will one day
spell a new nostalgia
home is a funny thing
it can be here
but it can also be
five thousand miles away
