Four Spare Seats Kate Miller-Heidke

She's plugged into headphones
Crouched in the corner of her one bedroom flat
Her clothes for the next day hang in the hallway
Over the welcome mat
She sees her own reflection
Looking back from a blank TV screen
She stares for a while and then she mimes the words

And on those days when she is looking around her
She's so amazed by the things that she sees
But most days she only sees herself

Upstairs behind another locked door
He's watching a movie that he's seen before
Phone's off the hook, the curtains are drawn
The benches are clean and the dishwasher's on
He sees his own reflection in a frame on the wall that's catching the light
He hadn't realised that he looked so tired

And on those days when he is looking around him
He's so amazed by the things that he sees
But most days he only sees himself

Next morning they pass in the hall
Both of them stare straight at the floor
All they hear is the sound of their shoes
As they climb in their cars to the radio news
They're stuck in traffic now
At opposite ends of the very same street
And just like everyone else
Driving with 4 spare seats