there was a time when we stopped asking
mother stirring on the sofa in the morning
father snoring in a bedroom alone

there was breakfast to be done
school and work to be attended
no time for unasked questions

there were afternoons in an empty house
surrounded by friends smoking cigarettes
teenagers testing taboos

there were evenings at the table
three plates full and another burnt chop
a gambling man at the TAB or the pub

there was a time when the laws changed
hell broke loose with a violent storm
a drive to police with a stranger pursuing

there was never a time that I knew that man
I only saw odd and he seemed an imposter
blind to his havoc and angry from changes

there then was a time of relative calm
possessions gone and a room reclaimed
constant toiling to make sure of shelter

now is a time of mirrors and mazes
light refracting through a cracked prism
realising none of this is any reason