Another Letter Home From Melbourne

update mother,
people are packed closer here
but that means I can finally hear
the thumping of foreign hearts
as they jostle – collide, fumble – thrive,
and how wonderful it is to be able to breathe
as winter’s last bouts of rain
washes my deluded expectations clean.

(oh, and you know what?
I have begun to appreciate
my daily dose of intimacy
on crowded trams,
as they crawl up swanston street.)

yes mother,
there is more distance here
but the ones I love are forever intertwined
in the chords of my apple earphones.
I complain about 6pm traffic every day
forgetting when the rush hour noises
faded into a familiar hum.

As I watch purpose-filled businessmen
and teenagers with rose-coloured dreams
roam our prison-bar shaped CBD,
they remind me of my mentor
and who I used to be.

I’ll admit I have yet to find my way
without google maps
but I know the best bar
in my neighbourhood
and the best time
to grab my groceries.

in this small city
I falsely claimed to be
the same size as my
big country.

city of indifference,
I felt,
another home,
I found.

Hi, this is my update, over a year later from my first ‘Letter Home From Melbourne’ 🙂

I remember when it was published on Tearaway, Rain (Editor) suggested I could do a part 2 about how the way I saw Melbourne has changed over time.

I think a big part of why it took so long to come up with a sequel is because I’m super lazy but I think a bigger part is honestly because I wasn’t inspired. I didn’t feel like a stranger or imposter in this city anymore but it wasn’t quite…home? Until now-ish.

I’m happy with where I am and although I occasionally miss home, this is home too. I thought I’d share because maybe some of you can relate to where I was or where I am now, thanks for reading.