by Michael O'Leary
The early evening finds me
Emerging from the water
At Paekakariki Beach
After swimming long and deep
The late summer colours
Cover the sky and the hills
I am alternately looking from
Land to the seaward visage
Towards and beyond Kapiti
My eyes straight to the horizon:
He stands suddenly beside me
He has heard I am with
A Raukawa girl, and he gives me
A distant, yet easy blessing
The beach towel over my shoulder
Becomes his korowai as a koha
So, the great man who haunts
This coast has visited me
In friendship and aroha, and
When I look away, he is gone
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ABOUT THE POET ~
I am a poet, novelist, artist, and academic from Aotearoa New Zealand. I have had several books of poetry published including 'Toku Tinihanga: selected poems 1982 to 2002' - my latest collections were 'Paneta Street' 2008 and 'Livin' ina Aucklan' in 2010. At present I am working on a project called 'Fences Fall' which is a collaboration with myself and several musicians to produce a CD of songs based on my poems.
Last updated August 08, 2011