the children

pairing: Ghost Children, by Johannes Reinhart, 2013

Ghost Children, by Johannes Reinhart, 2013

Photographer, Johannes Reinhart, is German born, based in Australia. You can see an extensive sampling of his photographs, many of which approach allegory, here.

Prophecy 

The man in my dream 
opens the door of a house,
steps out and says: 
   six children will die today. 

Six children wait  
at the bus stop, 
and although I recall 
what the man said,   
I watch them 
get on the bus, 
   and let them go.   

*

The house in my dream 
has six rooms,  
each with walls  
of a soft yellow,  
a bed of a softer white,  
and a child scarred with 
a small but fatal wound 
   of the softest pink.  

The man does not appear;
   there is nothing else. 

And in my dream,
in the house, 
I am not aware  
of what the man said;
   I only know 
a child is dead.