Te Tairawhiti poety writing competition

dust off

your curiosity

blow

the cobwebs

from the magnifying glass

of your mind

stretch it

gently, softly

softly, gently

probe

its foggy edges

help it

remember

thick

brown

muddy

wet

earth

between toes

emerging from

a

thick

warm

woolly

sock-y

hibernation

let the crisp air

purify

the hard to reach corners

reawaken

Papatūānuku

feel the

love

of Ranginui

beam down through

rain drops

so slight

so light

they might as well

not be there

at all

Is there freedom for a locked down soul?

Can joy be found for a house-bound wanderer?

Where is courage for a Covid-fearful heart?

— a hug for touch-starved skin?

Daffodils emerge from their earthy prison,

rampant clematis travels beyond its bounds.

Delicate jonquils brave the wind and rain

— sensory delights surround me in my garden.

Lambs and calves appear from womb-imprisoned safety,

their delight in new life cheering all.

Stumbling through to confidence, urged on by their needs

— food, nurture, warmth, contact.

The life we know may change yet life moves on.

Joy may dim yet be found anew.

Fear rises within, yet courage rises to meet it.

— What is most important?

It is people, it is people, it is people.

What is my worth and what is my measure

The mind wanders, the mind worries

Truth is plentiful, in the new spring weather

Sanguine shadows creep over and sigh

Morning returns with a sweet-sounding whisper

Fresh blooms can be seen

From seeds sown in pleasure

Delighted hearts full of hope and joy

Let me be free, let me surrender

Shooting up through the earth

I cannot keep idle, I want to deliver

Gratitude grows, radiates through my soul

What is my place and will I breathe in so tranquil

Let me be peaceful, absorb the sun shimmering

Flourish and blossom and thrive as I’m thankful

Feel gentle awakening, slowly rise to my freedom

Scattered pink confetti

And golden kōwhai blooms

Jasmine scents before the dawn

A harmonising tune

Blue moons and waxing crescents

The maiden’s joyful call

Warm dappled sunlight on my skin

More cherry blossoms fall

Planting dreams in fertile soil

A brightness in the eyes

Walking in September rain

Reaching for the skies

Awaken the world alight upon us

The commune internal closing

Darkness dispersed in radiance

The well spring still

Her brilliant fill

Our vessel

The fires of star-lit nights

Turn charcoal in the hearth

A warmth returns the face

Of soul’s plexus in central orbit

After rest with winter maiden

Canopies alive in purity

White petals welcome the tears of Pipiwharauroa

Home

The seeds so tenderly held

From dreams of darkest winter night

Ideas we bed in warming earth

To germinate and spread their truths

A smile in the telling