I will use all the usual cliches… “it spoke to me” “I was inspired” … well, it happens to be true so there goes me being too cool for the room and turning my nose up to convention. For whatever reason the universe decided to drop New Zealand into my mind lap and I am hooked deep. I am not talking about actually loving an inanimate object (because that IS a thing apparently) but more the sheer diversity of the lands (fauna/creatures) and people in somewhere located literally on the other side of the world. Truly it makes you wonder about the universe if most of us will never explore all the nooks in our own country (or state!) let alone this entire tiny dot on the backside of the milky way booty. I am particularly enchanted by the Maori culture (as in most Polynesian cultures it focuses on nature and particularly the oceans). So with all that verbosity spilled here are some NZ inspired poems. I probably will write more but these came in a rash/dash of inspiration so… (notes below the poems explain some of the things I was thinking about as well as links to various mythology/information… you MIGHT have to learn something… I apologize in advance but I seriously have a NZ bug lately…)
“fantail” 4/18/18
might I be a fantail
stopping on a line
beak snapping
right on time
unsuspecting fly
cup nest for my young
hunger chirps from eager tongues
DMK note: the fantail is a stunning little beast. They can course correct in mid air due to their (drum roll…) fan tail. Check out this video. Amazing bird.
“tangi” 4/23/18
might I be buried under a pohutukawa tree
and climb the roots
like vines
pulling oddly one by ten
to fool the blind
and so I may fall again
right back into the earth I fled
and roots shall draw out my life
coloring flowers of blood blossoms
to mark the path
and softens the harshest lands
might children play around my spine
elders pray to the north
open minds
DMK Note: lots to play off here, you sort of need to know about the trees and the Maori beliefs. But for me I found it fascinating that the Maori have a specific place where the dead leave the earth to travel back (in spirit) to their homeland. I am specifically referencing certain elements in the story of Tawhaki. The tree itself is also fascinating as it clings to outcrops and can pretty much grow in some extremely harsh environments… I would like to think of myself that way… if I were that brave, one can dream, and I certainly do.
“grounded” 4/23/18
penguins in the forests
foot paths worn with water feet
all these mazes
for children’s sake
their cousins the kiwi
also tired of flight
peck and hunt
upon the ground
all the while
with peculiar gate
and protruding snouts
might they all admire
the kakapo
ranger of the night
another relative
who has forgotten flight
DMK Note: NZ has an amazing diversity of life due to evolutionary forces separating the island from any other lands. The isolation has led to a few very significant flightless birds. The Kiwi of course is quite famous as it gives the nickname for NZ natives themselves. But the Kakapo is this amazing huge night parrot. Unfortunately due to introduced species the Kakapo is nearly wiped out but conservation efforts are in full swing thankfully. Oh yeah… the penguin thing... they live in the forest and make this mad commute every day that rivals my own. Penguins in the forest ! really!
“Te Rerenga Wairua” 5/21/18
fingers of flame
filaments of fire
on timbers
holding onto this plane
corporal limbs
blooming land anemones
from root to branch
extends out to the tide
two bodies collide
ocean mist
in the distance
flowers for passing eyes
one last glimpse
before the dive
DMK note: Cape Reinga (the Maori words are the title of the poem). Literally believed to be the point where souls jump off to return home. I am again referencing the Pohutukawa tree as well here… and the fact that two oceans literally meet off the coast of this amazing place. There is a tree said to be 800 years old just clinging to the coast… I mean, how many more metaphors can you pour into this thing ? Amazing…
Musical time out: Eluveitie – The call of the Mountains… I think Anna Murphy’s voice is up there with Tori Amos…
Poems don’t always have to be seriously deadly.. ? do they ? Sometimes a whim of whimsical floats my sails and trails off into my pen.. and then we (well, you in this particular instance) get some of these little devils…
I suppose there might just be such a thing. I think schools teach Haiku in that manner as if 
Winter certainly has been a worthy adversary in these parts… finally a taste of spring has whet the imagination to thaw here in New Jersey. Here is a spring work from last year when spring arrived a bit earlier.
Shades of My Garden 