Under the Stairs by Lynelle Kendall

In my very big house

There’s a very small room

That’s just the right size for me

It’s under the stairs

It’s got pillows for chairs

And a torch so my teddies can see

There we read and we play

And tell stories all day

You see, we don’t need too much space

It’s all that I need

And I’m happy indeed

When I’ve crawled into my secret place.

Lynelle Kendall

A Secret Space by Di Bates

There was shelter –

An upturned water tank

With an entrance hole —

My secret space

In the brittle summer bush

Where I’d hide,

Dark and bruised and splintered.

In those childhood days

I was an outlaw of sorts,

Travelling alone,

Not fitting anywhere,

Listening to cicadas throbbing

With song,

Beyond words,

Wanting nothing

But the arc of my mother’s arms.

Dianne Bates