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…

Life : Espresso Benediction

Night’s pause slowly eases as the dim blue ripens to fire Groggy eyes break free of their fleshy peach coloured tents, They venture forth to judge the horrors of another day BANG BANG BANG Yesterday’s heroes fall to their mass grave, Steam rises like smoke from the pyre, a victim of history Their part has…

Life : Satan and Me

Before the beginning the walls of my world were marked by the beast My parents scrubbed for days till the 6’s relented , One after another in every room No manger for me just a villa abandoned by the bankrupt occult The world found a way Some might see it a prophecy

Life : God is in His Heaven … Filing

She came across a hedgehog gently decaying on the berm Who do I call , she demanded from the crowd Who needs to be informed?  Will the next of kin be coming round ? The cosmos remained silent No one seemed to know where the responsibility did lie There must be a form or a…

Life : Bone-Fire

When the end of the world came we collected the works of the transgressors, we built a raging bone-fire of righteousness that burnt for days. The ill deeds of the authors gave the flames a blue tinge like a gas burner on full, we cast stones with abandon , the compasses spun like roulette wheels….