Wild Honey

Stuart’s gallantry … I remember once

He struck a bully who had called his girl

some mildly offensive name … Wild honey.

 

Margaret’s passion … She danced a hula once

for a Director of Education

on a cluttered table top … Wild honey.

 

Lilburn’s solitude … Alone he paces

an empty beach, creating in his mind

bare harmonies of sand and wave … Wild honey.

 

Meg’s loveliness … In that absurd boatshed

how it glowed, while the tide chuckled and slapped

below us — God, how she glowed! … Wild honey.

 

These things: gallantry, passion, solitude

and loveliness — how they glow! … Wild honey.

 

By Alistair Te Ariki Campbell