Stephen House Poem

  Stephen House has won many awards as a poet, playwright, and actor. He’s received international literature residencies from The Australia Council and Asialink. His chapbooks “real and unreal” poetry and “The Ajoona Guest House” monologue are published by ICOE Press Australia. His next book drops soon. He performs his acclaimed monologues widely

the forest

 

at my forest camp

he collapses on the mattress

in my tent

and is asleep in moments

 

i pack my bag

and leave him a note

saying he can have the tent

and everything in it

 

say a prayer for him

and the other strugglers

around here

 

light some incense

and put it at my shrine

to Lord Ganesh

 

feed peanuts to the monkeys

my friends for a few months

 

and walk back through the forest

into the village

and across the bridge

over the river Ganges

towards Rishikesh

to get a bus to New Delhi

 

i stop on the bridge

put my bag down

look out to the Himalayas

blurred by my weary tears

 

think about going back

to the forest

say the things i never said

 

but i don’t

i pick up my bag

continue across the bridge

smiling

 

again free

with me  .