Why
Why I came because an illicit wind Pushed & carried & left me, bedraggled & adrift on summer tides ‘Til I washed ashore & was welcomed By the love of the River Tribe – & I stepped beyond the edge…
Shooting Star
Shooting Star Walking the wildness of Wharariki We meet Toby & Veronica in a clash of waves & Toby speaks of the shooting star Seen the night the River Tribe shared poems The incandescent spark falling earthward For the briefest…
Handover
Handover You sing Te Waikoropupu waiata & heart thumps – heart thumps – heart thumps & eyes are full of tears As you speak of the hard road & those who’ve passed & cannot be here & how Ngati Tama…
Takaka Sonnet 21
21 I sip coffee at the Dangerous Kitchen While science guy gives me Te Waikoropupu 101 Which sweeps away the fog So I see the imminent threat to Pupu Springs If nitrate levels continue to rise & dairy farmers dump…
Takaka Sonnet (20)
20 It’s my birthday as I watch samples Taken from Fish Creek & Te Waikoropupu & learn about the Arthur Marble Aquifer & the stygofauna that clean the water How it goes in brown & comes out clear & the…
Balls
Balls So here’s a riddle for the town Please get your pens & write it down Just how many balls does a redneck have Who attacks a man in a parked up Rav? A stranger, who he’s yet to meet!…
Wāhi tapu
Wāhi tapu It always happens – The slowing of time as I walk towards you & the noticing of kanuka & rimu & pīwakawaka dancing at my right shoulder & the words wāhi tapu Written in yellow on the green…
Kaitaiki
Kaitiaki See now the eagle circle high Above the ancient springs Who knows the hand that brings her here? As loud her cry does ring Above the waters, she protects This guardian of old Te Pouākai is her given name…
Waikoropupu
Waikoropupu It’s beautiful here in the rain Feeling the slow release Of the tensions I bring with me After last night’s meeting & the upwelling of clarity Which is your particular gift & the one we humans sorely need In…
Angels
Angels Twas two fifteen, when I awoke I’m getting old, & that’s no joke & there they were about the bins With open hearts, & mighty grins They just appeared, from there to here They’re on the earth, & somewhat…