Prelude

Houses with mirrors at their doorstep
are a wonder in the realm
of interior design, they are
a prelude to the home that awaits
you, once you cross the obstacle
that is yourself.

They are a silent interrogation,
a question left in your way,
to proceed or to stay.

To step into the kitchen
where small-town-small-talk toasts
upon a stove,
or to enter the maze
of a crowded living room.
Mantelpieces desperate to force conversation,
where there could have been the gaze,
of one’s own
kind disquiet.