smoke

I like the smell of
unsmoked cigarettes, 
and ones smoked outside.

I gallop away

...with foot in the stirrup
I gallop away...
Photo: Stirrups at a Paris museum 

two

I remembered these white plants 
as piglets - and I want to post 
wishes to two pregnant women I know.
Photo: At an A & P Show, Clareville, New Zealand

poppy love

I am falling in love 
with these plants, and I think 
of Rita Angus, who said that 
the first duty of an artist 
is to find beauty in everyday life.
Photo: Our poppies on a rainy evening

poppy night

Poppies in our garden,
taller than I am.
Photo: On a rainy evening

the day and I, life and I

The day is always 
temporary. As we are, 
though our love remains,
and I think of 
Laurie Anderson's words
after Lou Reed died -
'the purpose of death
is the release of love'
as is the purpose of life
Photo: A sign removed from its pole

rainbow

We call this moment a rainbow.
Photo: L. at a swimming hole, New Zealand

effort and moment

It took several times to catch
the right moment 
with the mobile phone 
camera. I like this moment.
Photo: L's friend in a nearby 
swimming hole

sweet as

Sweet as.
One of my favo(u)rite colloquial
expressions here in New Zealand.
Photo: Two happy friends 

heat water

Today very warm
so we swam.
Nothing like the body
being underwater.
Photo: Cement ground, at low shutter speed

trying, too

I have been trying 
to understand a sentence 
for a report I have been editing.
Photo: Rope, Greytown

trying

Saying the 'right' thing in the 'right' way to a teenager can be so very hard.  
Photo: Window of abandoned hospital, Wairarapa

brushing, embarrassing

I remember living in a dormitory
and having to brush my teeth
in front of people. Somehow
it was so embarrassing.
Photo: Sinks somewhere in the Wairarapa

river and creek

These shoes were a gift
from a friend I call River.
We wear the same size 
though she is inches shorter 
and here I stand 
by a kind of creek
and think of her.
Photo: At Greytown Old Hospital

so much joy

Each and every blossom
so much joy and I think
of the flower called angel's breath
though this has a different name.
Photo: Bush in Greytown

long live doodling

Reminds me of the doodles
I would do as a girl.
Photo: Made by a girl
who lives down the road

listen

I meet a woman with 
"if you listen" tattooed
on her arm, and I am 
thinking of another woman
who has had procedures
in her ears to be able 
to hear better.
Photo: part of 'Keep Clear'
on the road

I remember

I know of a boy
who so loved his tricycle
that his father buried it with him.
The boy was bombed to death,
in Hiroshima, in 1945.
Photo: A tricycle in the Wairarapa

open

mic
Photo: At the old hospital 
in Greytown, Wairarapa

twice

I sat in the same spot 

for two consecutive nights, 

twice in a lifetime.

Photo: Kuranui College, Wairarapa

eel

We saw our first eel
in the creek today.
It was about 35cm.
Photo: Measurement for fish to be put back in the water 

hello

Tonight our girls
will shine on stage.
Hello.
Photo: In Masterton

center

Wide open, the peonies these days.
For a while, they close up at night.
Photo: In our garden

water and wall

This is painted on the wall
of a fish'n chips shop, and as I
wait for the order, I wonder
how the fish swims with these fins,
and what it sounds like within water.
Photo: At Centreway, Carterton

living, loving

A living thing is a loving thing.
Photo: Black Bob in our living room

s m a l l

Small can be all.
Photo: Park bench, Wairarapa

down, go, up...

I like the action series.
Photo: At a school, Wairarapa

not

The world is not conclusion.
Photo: An unused banquet room
Text: From Emily Dickinson

the colors of

Feels like summer.
Photo: A spectator in England

making

Poets are makers, Michele Leggott
recently said, on a day when I saw
her as a lovely companion.
Photo: In a bookshop in England