of fog

of fog

the sky
was delayed
this morning
blackbird
tui
mynah
fiercely looking
for it startled
at the softness
round their
call
of
fog

morning, 22 july 2013

drawing water

drawing water
                         for N.

Ulaanbaatar

a girl just
good for
carrying
water
in buckets
back uphill
balanced
hard across
her shoulders
lighting the
morning fire
in a house of
brothers
washing
everyone’s
clothes
grew to
a woman
drawing
sorrow
only
dying
kicked over.

coming later

coming later

was the waikato
along the road
to marokopa
land flattened
in the wet
the cloud a silvered
tussock stacked
across the sky
a man out
there in a far
paddock chopping
a log or stump
the wood letting
out a ‘thunk’
only when the
axe hit the top
of the swing back.
dad told me