THE PARABLE OF THE IMMIGRANT
The mirror lies. You cannot touch the reflection you see. You smash the mirror, yet the reflection votes remain on your mind. In the parable of the immigrant, the hummingbird wanders into a car park & finds the side mirror of a disused lorry. It perches daily, pecking hard at its reflection, as if asking, how can I touch myself with this curved beak?
I ask this question too, in the bathroom mirror, toothbrush in hand, water sluicing down the porcelain basin, lover’s hands like ribbons around me. This patch of earth is mine too. I am a hummingbird. On lingering days, emblazoned by the wintry cold, hot water in the bathroom splashes warmth, elusive from cousins, once, twice removed, I ask the mirror what kind of body home is. You call some people home & they flinch.
Dami Ajayi, a psychiatrist, lives in Watford.
Genealogy
In memory of June E. Neale’s work on the booklet Neale Family History, Nelson 1974.
Emma Neale is a New Zealand writer and editor. She has had six novels, six collections of poetry, and one collection of short fiction published. Her novel Billy Bird was long listed for the Dublin International Literary Award 2018. In 2020 she received the Lauris Edmond Memorial Award for a Distinguished Contribution to New Zealand Poetry.