I wrote this poem some years ago, but I have taken it out today and dusted it off, editing it here and there. I removed a whole verse and changed words and line structure and some punctuation. It feels more authentic now. Sometimes revisiting a piece reminds us how far we have come, and how […]
Journalism in a time of COVID-19
It’s lockdown day #14 in New Zealand, and every afternoon the brave amongst us tune in to watch the press briefing our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, gives in conjunction with Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Our PM, as various media here and around the world have pointed out, is giving other world leaders a […]
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Today
The world has become still. The voices of the dying are terrifying in their silence. We are grieving what is lost, and what will be lost. We are separate, but united. We are ALL the frontline. We do not know exactly what our world will look like when it reboots. But for today, I am […]
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Punctuation is SEXY (and using it properly will get you more dates online)
So I have a gripe. A grammarian gripe, if you will. A punctuation protestation. I’m pissed off. I’m aghast. I’m fed up. I’m THIS CLOSE to giving an unsuspecting passer-by a good slap. And you, lucky readers, are about to hear all about it. Read that sentence again. Take particular note of the plural: readers. […]
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Four Words
I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived. I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now. I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held. -Mary […]
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If it’s Left, it’s Right
This poem is about finding our way as we navigate intimacy and vulnerability and new spaces in our lives. I wrote it very quickly, although it had been whispering to me for some time, in my head. Sometimes I sense when a piece needs to be written: I feel an “itch” on my mind and […]
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Loving and losing our children
New Zealand’s appalling youth suicide rate is in the news again, as is our impotency in the face of it. A new UNICEF report has found New Zealand’s youth suicide rate – teenagers between 15 and 19 – to be the highest of a long list of 41 OECD and EU countries. The usual culprits […]
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Mother
I take your hand as we prepare to cross the road. You sigh into the safety of me, and I grip tighter to tell you that I love you. I kiss your forehead as you sleep and as you breathe in, breathe out, your face free from pain in loose and dreamy folds I straighten […]
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