emergence

you push open the stiff wooden gate
last night's rain swelling the door frame
air humid, warm, it envelops your face
a tropical nuance, after the monsoons

cats scatter, mewling at your advent
reggae on the radio through the screen
across the alley they're frying sausage
yard choked with ivy, multiplicity of weeds

you pause, pat your pockets for the keys,
but it's not those you've forgotten
a rush, your senses deluge you
for a moment you emerge from the womb

strangers

they have come over the mountains
from the east, laughing,
shouting in strange tongues

taking whatever they like
seducing our daughters, fascinating
our young men with their greedy ways

a restless people, already scouting
spying out the western hills

our elders confer with secret sighs
pray they find their hearts' desire

how long, how long, what rites
will cleanse the land of their blood