Friday, July 20, 2012

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

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