Trees on the Arapuni Road
By Philip Sidney
- 11990 reads
When they felled the high trees
mother was delighted
she lived in fear of their imminent collapse
onto our matchbox house
despite their wounds
they lived on
great bodies stretched alongside the road
still elegant in their diminishment
their green turning brighter
in defiance of their rootless state
we climbed into their secret places - sat with the giant moths
on shattered bark as hand-sized insects walked on our arms
tiny hooks at the base of their legs held fast to our skin
and we wondered what they had seen in the night
while we were behind that other wooden wall
heads under woollen blankets
listening to cicadas and that noise beneath
we couldn’t name
we chewed on bitter leaves
later - after emptying stomachs past the yellow and the green
to the transparency of some unknown liquid that was in us but not of us
we contemplated the meat of our bodies and how - when we would be cut down -
our bones would lie white then turn to dust
we drove our toes into the dust of the road and
sometimes found giant pennies of the British Empire
fallen from the pockets of the last of the soldiers
who fought so we could live here
instead of the ones who did before.
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Comments
This is New Zealand? Such a
This is New Zealand? Such a glimpse of childhood wonder and interest of investigation and play.
Down the ages there must have been many instances of exploration and settlement in places new, and fighting, the whole globe over, time and time again. And, often, at least and at last, integration and peaceful and friendly co-existance. Rhiannon
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Pick of the Day
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Don't have adequate
Don't have adequate superlatives for this. The way you write, I feel I can touch things
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A wonderful little escape
A wonderful little escape into another world - you took me right there phil, thank you!
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I really enjoyed reading this
I really enjoyed reading this, Philip Sidney.
Very otherworldly.
Parson Thru
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This is gorgeous, PS. I love
This is gorgeous, PS. I love it.
Rich x
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Possibly..
...the most memorable and resonating piece I've read this year. Your ability to bring sense of place, immediacy of actions and effect within a context of past events are skilfully controlled and enviable, you never let the narrative run away from you. Fabulous.
Best wishes
Lxx
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This is our Poem of the Week
This is our Poem of the Week - Congratulations!
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Oh good! See you there!
Oh good! See you there!
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Beautiful poem. Love the
Beautiful poem. Love the giant moths and bark, well, all of it. :)
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Enjoyed hearing this read.
Enjoyed hearing this read. The reading did immense justice to the written word.
Parson Thru
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This is our Poem of the Month
This is our Poem of the Month - Congratulations!
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great imagery
love the feeling of childhood, the wooden and woolen connection, the moths and cicadias and how the fallen trees link to bleached bones and pennies from soldiers. Beautifully depicted.
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A precious poem with corners
A precious poem with corners that surprise. And we are the better
for it.
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Memorable.
Your ability to invest us with your memories is so clever, thank you.
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/search?q=FrancesMF
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