Four Rainy Days Poem by Haris Hidayat

Steel horses took me in and took me away.
Stormy weather spilled out onto the floor
as Sydneysiders raced to get home,
but I had no care left to give away.

Despite the clashing clouts of mobility and languor,
I was suffused in mixed emotions
as if they were unprecedented.
My subconscious gazed at a time-polished surface
that had experienced such loss,
possibly one too many to glance back at.
I sought the last memory of you at the Wynyard
where my heart put down roots with yours.

I turned to the shield of the rain outside
tilting my head slightly towards the night.
Tears sloped down my face on one side,
unnoticed to the adjacent crowd.
I was subverted by the overcast madness of my own audacity,
but four successive rainy days slowly opened up my eyes
as you laid the ground under my feet,
showing me blue skies.

It’s been a while since I last laughed that much;
or cry this much now that you’ve taken the light.
Though I was rather ill at ease,
the moment was fleeting
and tomorrow never comes.
As you softly whispered, “Me, too, ” it made the two of us.
In my journey through the desert, beyond a doubt,
with you I feel accepted and justified.

(Central Coast, NSW,27 May 2010)