SALEM

SALEM

Siân Owen

were you

the Welsh Mona Lisa.

The morbid picture on the wall

the iconic rebel 

against the piety of the chapel.

Did you purposely arrive ten minutes late

for the morning service 

to ensure you had a

maximum audience to

suggest a comment on

the sin of vanity depicting 

the devils face in the folds

of your shawl.

What I would really like to know 

were you 

frivolous or just a cold and morbid Welsh work of art

Siân Owen?

Avie.

Rangitikei from the sky

RANGITIKEI 

FROM THE SKY.

I see Rangitikei 

from the sky

at first a gleam

of arterial paths 

lead to one river.

I see no obstacles 

from this great height

only the meander

of the silver serpent 

to the long continuous curve

at the edge of the green globe

it’s mouth wide open

to the sea.

Avie.

Wellington

WELLINGTON 

I love the glimpse of 

the city sprawl 

through the  trees

from Mt. Victoria 

and the view through

rope and pulleys 

knocking lines 

against the masts 

on the harbour 

floating on sparkles

of the sun.

Avie.

KOWHAI

KOWHAI

The insightful 

embodiment of

rapid flutter

so swift a spirit of flight 

stopped me in

my tracks.

The inevitability 

of the petals

at the mercy of

the windfall season

a reminder of my mortality 

the empty vessel 

stripped bare 

from the tree

fading out of 

the blue sky.

Avie.

The Celtic

THE CELTIC WAY

One day 

when you are gone

the phone will 

stop talking Welsh.

Avie.

SLOTH

SLOTH 

This morning

I put the kettle on 

and had a wine

I reached 

for the fruit bowl 

and fried some bacon.

It was such

a beautiful morning

I decided to go

for a walk to the car 

to get my smokes.

Feeling energised 

I had a nap 

with half an

inclination to have a

disinclination dream.

Avie.

Pebbled Kiwi

THE PEBBLED KIWI

The sculptor asked

the ocean

how long 

will it take

before you create a

shift in the golden sands?

The ocean said

my tides are strong

with uncertain undercurrents 

it will be a 

flightless quest

if you have not 

carved eyes in the stone 

to see the changing moon.

Avie.

The Hub

THE HUB

Welcome to the 

espresso  

acoustic 

jazz 

fusion lounge.

Take your shoes off 

take a chill pill

okay rug puppies

sink yourself into the retro beanbag scene.

Let's talk funk

wear barista style 

beatnik false beards

put on DJ 

head sets

hands free.

Rap

are you excited

let's get invited

to find a solution 

start a revolution 

a new foundation to

education.

Grooving with the

screen jargon 

hanging out

with the lava lamp

incandescent 

lighting

escaping 

from the hub bustle

in the break out

Space!

Boom!!

Avie.

MT.VIC

MT. VIC. TUNNEL.

So why do they

lean on their horns

and toot through 

the tunnel 

asked the voice

from the gallows of

George Coats?

It is because of you

I am with child

in the darkness

said the ghost

of Phillis Symons.

Avie.

MANIFESTATION

MANIFESTATION.

My waterproof leggings 

hang up to dry

over the broom handle

in the shed.

I turn my head away 

and in the corner 

of my eye

an apparition appeared

observing the living.

A dark shadow

part of life's

undiscovered mysteries

like a reflection

in the mirror

a face

not quite mine

is witness to

the rain drops 

dripping like blood 

onto the frozen floor 

from the

dirty broken 

iron roof.

Avie.

Love poem

LOVE POEM

I love it 

when the 

weather man

get's it right.

Here's our

Sunday rain

my love.

How lovely 

it is to be

here with you.

It's true 

you make me 

happy

and I'm the

happiest with you.

Avie.

I never

 

I NEVER HAD THIS FEELING 

WHEN OBAMA WAS PRESIDENT.

What will become of us

after the nuclear clouds

spill the forked rays out of

the darkness and

the arrows of light stab

the doves wing?

Avie.

THE WEIGHT

THE WEIGHT

When all my day is done

I let go of the final weight

and lay my body to rest.

Avie.

NIGHT RAIN

NIGHT RAIN

I knocked

a weta out of

my gumboot

it was a large 

spiky critter 

the colour of whiskey.

I set it free

into the garden

the other boot was

full to the brim

from the drip 

of a nail pop

under the mackintosh sky

the colour of

Urn-Bru

Scotland's other national drink.

Avie.

FOR ANDREA

    FOR ANDREA

The lady obsessed 

with the bird feeder

wears a dress

of splendid fashion

garden frills

adorn her garment

with pockets of 

floral design.

The visitor

is close 

as if in a dream 

a flutter 

so swift and sure

follows her path

above the sweet 

colour of the

Kowhai tree.

Avie.

RIMU

RIMU

The Grande Dame is 

getting a face lift

the old veneer 

is coming off her nineteenth  century charms,

while the young boys 

chant in the sun 

to the rise

of the new super model.

Avie.

Showing MY

SHOWING MY AGE

Lily the pink

was playing over the wireless 

"She invented a medicinal compound "

I watched the cigarette ash burn down the 

long lit fuse.

Martini announced a sparkle of laughter.

It would be another seventeen years before 

I would see her face again 

for the last time 

sitting on a bench 

in the winter sun

under Brooklyn Bridge.

She lived on the second floor two blocks down. 

Her apartment door

seven dead locks barred   from the America

she adored.

Avie.

WEATHER BOMB

WEATHER BOMB

When I return

the aftermath 

will be there

waiting for me.

I will toil 

in the calm of the morning sun.

I will deal to the wind fallen  chaos dealt by

natures ferocious hand.

Cut and sweep 

the heavy green burden 

across the brittle paths.

My thoughts are already 

preparing to

sharpen the axe.

Avie.

 

GRENFELL TOWER

GRENFELL TOWER

What we know so far.  

We can't tell 

the dead that

the fire was not

the reason for their death.

Now they are gone

the black tower 

stands for the living 

to view the shame.

The spark ignited

long before the inferno

stoked by the

political poker

in the cauldron

of austerity that

fanned the 

merciless flames.

Avie.

LIGHT YEARS

 LIGHT YEARS AND POLES APART.

I clocked the silver star

flying up the parade

you were on the phone 

looking all top notch 

talking to other planets.

Outside the Blue Bell cafe

your spaceship commander 

stopped at the road crossing 

my keys started to jingle 

shopping bag handles wired to my hands

cut through my fingers 

from the weight of milk.

At this moment in time

our universes collided

both of us

journeying into different galaxies.

Avie.