the number 19

The number 19

Getting off the bus
Walking back the way I came
Turning right
I walk past the small newsagents
Looking for my home
Walking past the school
Down the one way street
Getting lost in my music till I reach the traffic lights
I press the button and wait for what seems an eternity
I wait for “the green man”
To take my hand and guide me safely across the flow and the rush
Of the metal boxes that symbolise the freedom
But that have no fresh air
When I am safely across
I turn right
And almost immediately left again
Past the vaults and up the hill
Again I get lost in the beat of the angel in the night
I cross the road again
Not far now
Past the evil haunted house
Were the vampires and werewolves could lay in wait
And almost opposite from the church
I cross the road again
Now the smell of the take away fills the air
And I see the shutters of the little corner shop
I now allow myself to fall into the temptation
Of dreaming about the warm welcoming of then number nineteen
Now past the small little bungalows and the small patch of grass and the tree
Just up the hill now
This is were it gets hard
The steep climb seems to be holding me back
Trying to stop me reaching my destination
It gets steeper still at the curve
At last the ordeal is over number nineteen with in sight
My mums car
And sisters bedroom window
The warm glow from within
I am home now
My ordeal complete
I am safe now
Within number nineteen