Elaine Mamary

I return to the house of the familiar;
It is greasy and gray
It is loud and exciting
It swallows me up and spits me out
with smoke and noise and laughter

I am restless, calm and pensive.
I wait...
I become a machine
I push and pull pots and pans and people
It is loud and exciting
It swallows me up and spits me out
with smoke and noise and laughter

I pay for past adventures
trade paper for dreams and pain
I remember the unfamiliar
I was restless, calm and pensive
I prayed...

I walk down the paths of the exotic;
Lush greens and turquoise seas
swallow me up and throw me back
on waves of music and tears

I return to the house of the familiar
It is empty and gray
Black dust coats the pots and pans and people
I hear echoes of lies and laughter
They’ve swallowed themselves and spit out
Sequins and cigars and painted masks
I close the door
I am restless, calm and pensive

I return to the path of the exotic
It is unfamiliar, pale and still
It caresses me with promise
It is the early glow of dawn
The magenta blur in the blue gray sky

It is quiet and exciting
It swallows me up and gently
rolls me up and down the hills
I outline the horizon...
I define the sea...
I sing the songs of space

I wait for the damp fog of dawn to lift
so I can continue on my path
of the exotic and the familiar
I am restless, calm and pensive