Lunch in Marrickville

Language, strange, I don’t understand it
People talking in my mother tongue
With accents
Where am I?
Only popped in for lunch

Three choices of soup
Lentil
Is the recipe from that book I read
Big bowl
Large lunch
Will rest with me all afternoon

More strange language
Another English speaker
Greek, Italian?
Fast, garbled, unintelligible
I avoid eye contact, just

The rumble of voices from outside
Intrudes the calm of the café
I glance through the window
Men, old men, not like me
Of course
Sitting at small tables talking.
No cigarettes, no drinks, no food
Just talking

As I look the passers by catch my eye
Old Chinese women hobble up the road
Shoppers of all sorts come and go
A young woman in sari walks down the road
Where am I

Fat man at the table
Will he eat the table?
Jolly but odd
Talks to the waitress
Wants 2 minutes to decide
Then leaves

Must be time for me to go also…

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