Life : For My Brother

A life time ago and I lie in bed , your body entwined in mine , hours old, the grey glowering sky outside just highlights the warmth in here, such a precious delicate bundle , such new horizons, the promise of everything, more intimate than I could imagine , nothing since has compared, and I…

Life : And Another Night Passes

Walking along the edge of the rain , my nose is dry and my ankles are wet. The dog charges forward , her jaw is set to a grin, her eyes scream Geronimo ! At my back The Southern Alps and Antarctica send their icy kisses north. Redolent splotches drip from spiraling grey gods ,…

Life : On the Poetry of the Divine

I suppose when talking about the end god has to come into it, or the gods , as I like to put it as I don’t want to give the monotheists a monopoly on the language. I come from a household where my father was atheist and my mother was , is, non-practicing . My…

Life : On the Poetry of the End

When I was a teen I had a couple of English teachers who encouraged creative writing. These were woman who had grown up with The  Beatles and flower power , the sexual revolution and hippies and peace love and all that shit. On one hand they were I’m sure much more open minded and enlightened…

Life : Dust to dust

The stream that runs through Karori Cemetery smells of mothballs. The eau de vie of the end , perfume of a 1000 musty last moments, a spectral residue of a circle completed. The trees curl and strut amongst the cracked old graves. Spongy grass forms a mattress over my ancestors . My feet spring with…

Life : Bubble and Squeak

Crackle and hiss , boil and spit , mutton, ok lamb , hits a hot black pan. Seasoned hunterway bark , flavoured apparition next to the lea and perrins. Fried egg , and dripping , tales of great uncle bob, a breakfast of champs. Drain that wasted bog , spuds hit the deck , mashed…

Life : Time Travel

I travelled through time the other daynot even NASA would know my secret  one minute I was starting school thenmy first woman, graduating university,gathering the splinters of my heart andthen my back ached and my dad diedand well , maybe my secret techniquecan go backwards? Maybe not. Forwardscertainly works a startling bloody treat.  

Life : Solar Toenail

Last night I caught the sun by its toe It tried to escape , traveling at the speed of light Hell bent on scuttling behind the island But I was fast , and in the perfect spot I grabbed it with a digital lens Then I showed it to all my friends From now know…

life : Good Grief

Is there really good grief  ?Is there unconditional love?There is always fine printThe user agreement trumps allThe cost of love is loss.

Life : They Will Hear You at the Vicarage

When I was wee my father’s favourite warning was “What if the Vicar calls ? WHAT… IF …THE …VICAR… CALLS!? “ My nakedness, my vulgarity, My messy bloody bedroom floor All were to be shielded from the holy man of god.  Well that Vicar never did call, Our family had no taste for Jesus Or…