After all these years, the joy
of seeing remains.
Photo: Window and reflection
chapel
Another Sunday today, and I
remember this day in a chapel
in a city by the sea,
not a Sunday.
Photo: In Pokfulam, Hong Kong
river and creek
These shoes were a gift
from a friend I call River.
We wear the same size
though she is inches shorter
and here I stand
by a kind of creek
and think of her.
Photo: At Greytown Old Hospital
eel
We saw our first eel
in the creek today.
It was about 35cm.
Photo: Measurement for fish to be put back in the water
wonder
To walk into this square
is to walk into wonder, and I love
the building covered in white,
as if the sky
is also playing.
Photo: An installation in Paris, 2012
two roads
Many of us, people and dogs
alike, take these roads.
One road leads to town,
another to river.
Photo: Off North Road, Greytown, New Zealand
fleece
Today we met a woman who spins
and weaves alpaca, sheep,
siberian husky...
Photo: Off Waohine Gorge Road
body of air
Kikorangi, the Maori word
for blue: sky flesh.
Photo: Foreground fountain
and sky above Aotearoa,
The Land of the Long White Cloud,
also known as New Zealand
birth
It's my birthday today.
All is living and dying, again.
Photo: Ta Chiu, Hong Kong
A festival of renewal
more than one
Czeslaw Milosz: The purpose
of poetry is to remind us /
how difficult it is to remain one person.
Photo: Our garden in winter, New Zealand
swan line
Swans reach, eat
as much willow as
their beaks allow.
Photo: Henley Lake,
Wairarapa, New Zealand
as much willow as
their beaks allow.
Photo: Henley Lake,
Wairarapa, New Zealand
a Paris moment
The accordionist had just seen
us looking and began
to play as if only for us
(and our coins). Thank you.
Photo: On the Metro
thinking of a place
I am thinking of the next
exhibition, a place
for the images
to live for a while.
Photo: My exhibition 'delicate access'
with my home furtniture in the gallery
singing, a healthy thing
I read of a man who gets together
each week with friends to sing.
He says it is a healthy thing for him,
and I agree. Brian Eno, please come
'round here if you like, too.
Photo: Pinecones, Hong Kong
two tongues
A moment ago, our cats
were both cleaning themselves.
Two very busy tongues.
The sound of tongue on fur is not soft.
Photo: In a museum, Paris
we walk the river
We walk the river.
Rock, sand, slime, gorse.
We walk hours of water,
sure of place, sound, bend.
Text: From an unpublished poem, Photo: Mount Holdsworth, New Zealand
birth and music
Today is the birthday of a sister,
and I think of music together: dancing
in our basement as children, singing
to the radio and stereo, and imagining
a performance of all five sisters.
For you, S.
Photo: Two friends Poly and Orlando performing,
Wellington, New Zealand
warm and open
These mushrooms are just
the way I always want to be.
Photo: In the Wairarapa, New Zealand
eleven
I think about doing something
with these eleven slabs, do you?
Photo: Sea wall, Peng Chau, Hong Kong
curious
I
remember being in this village, a five-hour walk
from the nearest town,
and I remember being
just as curious as the children. I asked people
what they valued in their lives, and soon,
the book "My Favourite Thing" was born.
Photo: Me in China, 1998 (I am sorry that I have forgotten the name of the photographer.)
rise and fall and sway
I have visited this home.
Rows of corn swaying outside.
A baby swaying within.
Photo: In the Philippines
playing
I have always loved to use things
differently, playfully.
Photo: Seat for a van, New Zealand
pink and purple
I do not especially gravitate to the colo(u)rs pink and purple, and especially not the prissy pastel versions,
which seem to wilt.
But how I love the pink receptacle placed here
near the pyramids, and today, the gentle
purple slate seen in the hills of Hong Kong.
Photo: Giza, Egypt
before the fall
These apples will fall
all by themselves.
Photo: In H's garden, Carterton, New Zealand
appreciation
We have been having bread appreciation meals.
Homemade loaves with seeds, olives, nuts, herbs.
This round beauty was created
by people from Xinjiang.
And
the other day, I saw some biscuits made with flour, water and salt, and
baked up to four times to get rid of any moisture that might lead to
mold on a long voyage by ship.
It is called hard tack.
Photo: Bread for sale, near Suzhou, China
a poem to give
Wait until this moody weather
is over / That’s all that matters...
Photo: Lotus in car, at a festival, Hong Kong. For P.K.
is over / That’s all that matters...
Photo: Lotus in car, at a festival, Hong Kong. For P.K.
Text: From "A poem to give to a bitter melon," by Leung Ping Kwan (1949-2013)
dry hot dry
A dry time. Grass is yellowing,
wisteria leaves falling. We woke up this morning
and saw a double rainbow,
but only spits of hot rain.
I once called summer a giant snail.
Photo: City bench, Napier, New Zealand
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)