Aveley Lane

Lights turned on but the curtains not yet drawn

in the dusk that lingers over hedges

and scrubland bordering Langhams Rec. Here’s

the overgrown shortcut to the Bourne Stream,

the high wall that protects the vicarage.

 

Here’s another mother getting supper

in Neil’s kitchen. Here’s another father

parking his car in Adrian’s driveway.

They go about their family routines

as if they’ll never be replaced.