Refugees Prepare for Departure

Helen Pavlin

In one household
No goodbyes to be said,
no visas to be obtained,
mustn’t look like travelling,
mustn’t leave a trail.
What to take?
The Christening robe
for the unborn child, of course.

In another household
The bombs were falling closer.
Word came that they should go.
What to take?
They looked around.
“I’m going to hang the washing out,” she said.
For the first time in his life,
he helped her.

Time to go.
They looked around.
What to take?
When the doors and windows fell in,
they ran empty-handed.

In another household
Packing up the photos,
the jewellery,
deed to the house –
in case of a return –
medicines and food.
She ransacked drawers,
the practical one.
He fretted upstairs over his books.

And then, the little one,
climbing into the drawer her hands were busy in
to catch and hold her gaze:
“Mummy, take me too! Please!”

‘Refugees Prepare for Departure’ was previously published in Refugees – Living on the Margins (Australia, 2002).