Saturday, September 3, 2011

Earthquake Spring

4th September


North of the equator, April

might be “the cruellest month”.

Down here, in the south,

August is cruel.

Spring, with its promise of hope

new growth, and plans for the future,

blossom, daffodils and birdsong

sits uneasily amidst shattered houses

with gaps where there used to be

a teeming metropolis.

Roses may flourish despite

liquefaction, but where are

the lost lives, missing pets,

uprooted and tortured trees?


Mine is a grieving city,

and grief heightens contrasts.

What is black looks more black,

what is white looks more white.

No wonder we are pulled apart

by this poignancy of seeing.


1 comment:

  1. Yes, and it's dismaying how quickly New Zealand fell off the world's radar. "That quake was so looonngg ago. Surely everything is back to normal by now!" Alas, not so.

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