my ancestors came out of Africa
so did yours

Hey bra, I gotta get to Bermy
You going that way, could you give me a lift?
Where’s your mob from?
I’m an Aboriginal Australian. Luke’s my name.

their sweat lubricates
cogs of the industrial machine
they inhale the stench of Manchester cotton mills
dig the dark rock from Welsh mines
coal dust tattoos cuts in their skin
they die for country in the Crimean war
sail to the south seas, marry a stargazer

each coupling a knot tied
at each node the net grows
wide enough to catch Te Ika a Maui
a crazed spider web
complex and perfectly ordered

don’t be confused by your
chaotic square of cut grass
lives and planets move in patterns and fractals
we’re ancients in an ancient world

Te Ika a Maui – the fish of Maui, the North Island of NZ

Sue Peachey

 

Sue Peachey is a New Zealander currently living in Canberra. She is a landscape designer with a strong interest in permaculture, pottery and poetry and has published previously in Not Very Quiet, Eucalypt, Haibun Today and Kokako.

© 2018