Auckland Poetry

On A Day Like This  

Parked in a side-street, decided to walk into the town centre to buy my newspaper; legs ached, so very tired, and since it was July I wore shorts, my legs looked fine calf-muscles still strong; had I been a woman I would have said: “look at that man hasn’t he a pair of sex legs,a masculine Marlene Dietrich.” Perhaps not, but as I was thinking of her and Ernest Hemingway, they had loved each other, but never got around to do anything about it, I had walked out of the town wandering along a lane, made of sea sand and crushed shells, till I came to a crossing and at the left of it there was an enormous carob tree and under it heavy low hanging branches I found shade. Breeze filtered through the fleshy leaves making it cool; I leaned on its solid trunk and felt at ease with the world.  

I was running up a very steep hill, light footed as an onyx, the breeze…me, the act of running was a joy. At the top I could see the glittering sea and to meet my love I raced down hill faster than a stone could fall, and on the flatland waved to farmers tilling their soil; and without pausing, at the beach, I dived into the sea and began swimming till all land disappeared.  

I was at one with nature, around me circled happy dolphins, but suddenly, flecks of dark shadows appeared on the surfaceof the sea and it was cold despite the warm sun, I was utterly alone, my arms were thin and belonging to someone very old; as I throw my head back as not to drown my head hit the trunk of the tree, I looked out the sun had just gone down, but was still sending streaks of gold and orange across the sky. Back in town I thought of the lovely story of Adam & Eve, a pity that we’ll never know the name of the person, who wrote it; at a grocer’s I bought an apple and went looking for my car