Category: Poetry
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Working Class Hero
As Minister of Social Development I went hard, I developed people out of houses into cars.
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Ride the Dave Wave: a poem for David Clark
Hark! Hark! It’s Dave Clark, riding his unicycle round the bike park.
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Green Eggs and Porridge: a poem for Prince Andrew
My name is Andy Wyndzor, I’m aged 60 or so. Occupation not stated, of no fixed abode.
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Go Big or Go Home: a poem for Donald Trump
Prezident Cheezel deletes lockdown, deletes the World Health Organization, deletes the memory of George Floyd, then hunkers in his hunker bunker …
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The Rise of Toad: or a verse marking the anointment of a new leader of the National Party, 22 May 2020
All hail! Glad tidings O countrymen and womyn! The battle for the soul of our green and pleasant land is joined again: the banners blue unfurled and proud, stamped by the novel emblem of a Toad! Now just wait a minute, interrupts Simon the Unfortunate, before Lord Toad steps up nimble and lops his head.…
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Automated for the People
Published as part of the Dunedin City of Literature Possibilities Project For a start we are all awarded a year off, paid to do whatever we want. Aeroplanes are out, so we board sailing ships and crazy coloured zeppelins. We live for a long time (if we want.) It’s true that most of us are…
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Two poems in Takahē
Two poems of mine have been published in Takahē 98, Rage Virus and A Sea Wife. Thanks to Takahē who got this issue out online despite the current situation.
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Bat Flu
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The Contagion
Despite Google and experts, it’s fair to say it caught us off guard – by surprise. There was not a lot of joined up thinking, and early on in the piece, some wondered how such an antique doom could still stalk the land with scythe and skull. Towns slammed their gates, the plague already inside…
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The Lifers: Michael Steven
Michael Steven has published his second poetry collection, The Lifers. This is an exceptional book from one of New Zealand’s best poets. I recommend seeking out a copy immediately.
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Great South Desert
My poem ‘Great South Desert’ was recently featured in the New Zealand Poetry Society 2019 anthology The Perfect Weight of Blankets at Night. It features many iconic landmarks of the future. Te Ika a Maui and Te Wai Pounamu are amalgamated, welded by the gnarled spine of a metamorphic taniwha who manifested in the Great…
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How good is this?
After I got back from Hawaii, there were fireworks for New Year, then the cricket, not that I’m complaining, it’s always a busy time of year – a family time. I was having a look at the business pages one evening when the wife said look outside at that will ya? To be honest I…
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Phoning it in
I thought hard about publishing this. There’s been enough of a media circus around the publishing of a deeply offensive cartoon already. But this situation is too close to home. I’ve written for this newspaper and know that the journalists and other staff are deeply upset. The cartoon published by the Otago Daily Times was…
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Profiled
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Antarctic Poetry Exhibition
Join us for the launch of this special exhibition featuring work by twelve international poets, photographs, and photography of the poems taken in Antarctica by Blake Antarctic Ambassador Harry Seagar. Tuesday 8th October, 6pm (light refreshments served at 5.30pm) Ground Floor Exhibition Space, Dunedin City Library