Distance overcome

And the sheen on his heart

was the surface of a shadow

as the boy took pity

on a single stalk of clover

No-one knew that poet

who saw this from afar

Who is the poet? she asked

and someone replied

He is half a man

and half a dog

chewing bones of once-living things

sniffing out the left-over needs of his other half

looking for a place to lie

and rest his dirty paws

Like him I have seen it pour like rain

and ripple over concrete

and I’ve smelt the saline air

and crunched the pebbles of that shore-line

of my love

And I know your mind

as I know your tongue

How soft your hand was then

You sort of led our way

to a place I know quite well

and there you pointed to a coffin

alluding to the man within

He did not stir visibly

But we move with him in mind

and with each move we make

tighten the knots that tie us                                                     

Grant Duncan

Wellington–Auckland 22.6.03