1

the river map
shows houses
bridges and moorings
of disproportionate size

suggesting fish
it'd take more
than a pickaxe head
and fencing wire to land

some houses
abandoned a generation
shelter vines and weeds
before collapsing

in their rooms
and passages
time's minutiae
are mutely sifted

a single stone
honed by the river
is carried up
to be carved with a name

but rain and wind
work names
back into stone
and occlude them

page 121

blind as the feral moon
the stone glides
under water
out of memory

hills cut to mist
at a certain height
another light
and water border

hitch hikers
huddle in the shelter
happy to go either way
as long as it's gone

pants cuffs boot soles
stuck with mud
that dries to silt
finer than sand

those who've travelled
all this way
to see Jesus
usually bring him with them

everyone admires
a god
whose death
feeds his people

manuhiritanga
the most ancient
binding custom
we drank rain