Tuesday 24 May 2011

Tuesday Poem: "Orakawa Bay"



Like a world untouched
it lies below me.
Debonair,
sporting a pohutukawa hairstyle,
and beneath this
the angular straw-coloured features
taper to the full, aristocratic watery mouth.

Beneath an unburnished steel sky,
rolling with the punches
of a silken sea,
am I, one man,
escaping the madness for awhile.

Many years ago, I lived at Waihi Beach at the bottom of the Coromandel Peninsula. At the northern end of the beach was a walking track that led over to Orakawa Bay. At that time, Orakawa Bay could only be accessed by walking a reasonable distance through the bush and the bay lay like a reward at the end of the journey. I hope this is still the case.

The poet wishes to acknowledge The Press in whose pages this poem first appeared.

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