pieces of the road
keeping the dark
the fashion of it
the purple
youngest son
your
grey surprise
married to him
liftings
7
pieces from a journey winding north to south
thinking on it
i saw thirty years
further down
the track
mount pirongia
looking out
on the waikato
still thinking hard
on those things it
did then no closer
either of us to
a conclusion
drawing only
cloud in winds
of day stars
secret to us
in the breaks
of night.
waikato - wellington
december 2011
keeping the dark
the macrocarpa
keeps the dark
to itself however
strong the sun
blue the sky
green or yellow
the hay below
or loud the road
that turns
nearby.
the dark tight
in its branches
a dusting of light
on top to fool
the day.
wellington
december 2011
the fashion of it
the purple
the blond
the
brown
summer hay
like well-worn corduroy
shining in folds on the hills
the hawk’s
slow loop
sewing
sky to earth
wairau valley
february 17, 2012
youngest son
your
youngest son
born not to
take after you
no, not even that
just to follow
your tracks in
shadow on
dry summer
hills glimpses
of forest-laden
streams in the
river valley
you came
through
a man
who never
knew of Laozi*
you could
have been
him riding in
silence reins
like simple rope**
in hand.
wairau valley
february 17, 2012
** Laozi is the Chinese philosopher credited with
authorship of the Taoist canon ‘Daodejing’ (Taoteh Ching) though little
concrete information on him exists. One
of his precepts described in that text is that the simpler life is the better
and for that reason villagers needed little more intellectual gadgetry than
rope to mark with knots as a form of measure. He viewed with great suspicion
the machinations of scholars and artists who tried to find for themselves
wealth and position by cultivating relationships with their rulers and acting
as their advisors.
grey surprise
the long
grey rock
above the slump
back of breakers
and foam
scribbled through
fissure and kelp
down there
woke
lifted and
lunged forward
a sea lion
baked the
shade of
stone in
sheer
sun.
westport, queenstown
december 2011
married to him
to his wife
you might have
wished for more,
much more
a love brimming
like a spring tide
that would have
lifted the shoreline
inland by miles
brought dawn’s
ocean to your
door with galleon
moon to west
yet had to take
exactly what
he gave no
more on top
just that
sitting at the
table with him
swirling the cold
coffee left at the
bottom of the mug
together looking
for a window
in that room
with balcony
doors that
anyone can
open cool
to each
other the
other you
hardly see
anymore.
queenstown
january 2012
liftings
thought
the pines
this morning
wet, dark
bunching
down the
drops and
ridges to
the lake
were
smouldering
some fool
with matches
trying to do
the impossible
mountain upon
mountain really
just cloud lifting
up those gullies
a patter again
of rain.
queenstown
january 2012
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