"Runaway"

Aarti Monteiro

Around me, they wrap arms
like green vines,
though we just met.
To escape into a world
of strangers, I seek.

Streets in foreign city built
for people who know
where they are going.
If not, for those who
do not need to turn around.

Beside big roads
they build altars
to bury their dead.
Hidden secrets
under black earth.

Houses, painted reds and
oranges on narrow brick streets,
draw me closer.
Behind houses lie corners
of earth -
forgotten places I run
away to in my mind.

I spent hours
inside myself
yesterday.