He said thankyou
I never forget that time.
He said lucky,
lucky we have good neighbour.
I always remember
I arrived in Australia
with my wife and my daughter
Mrs Julie brought the cake
I never forget that time.

It was springtime
when my wife and my daughter
when we came to Australia.
It is now
Australia is now spring.
Flowers are beautiful and many colourful
it remind me to miss my wife.

Dear Henri,
we remember our street
each day you greeted us
spoke with our children
so readily forgave their rowdy ways.
And now you have written us a letter,
for we are far away, in exile for a while
in a place that has forgotten welcome.
‘I hope to see you again,’ you say
‘in the nearest day.’

Julie Perrin © 1994

*Henri was our next door neighbour in Abbotsford, Victoria. He and his family came to our street from Vietnam. When our children were young we lived overseas for a year and Henri wrote us, his words reminded us of all that we missed and longed for in our inner city home.