strange alliance
the movement is quick
methodical
i pull off my jersey
the sun folds it neatly
disciples of the man
in the grey boiler suit
talk tactics
for standing on street corners
shouting ‘repent ye’ graffiti
at other faces
the day is hooked
nose-like
sniffing at cherry blossoms
the wild life of children
female office workers
sitting on lawns
unwrapping aspects of men
==
around Hato Petra
i count my paces
this ritual never changes
i take ownership of the path
and wait by the carved Taiapa gate
==
i grab my jersey
put it on / the church
creaks with wood
with too much carbon
on its breath
sparrows frisk crucifixes
you arrive / kiss
there’s more to this
than is preferentially possible
the sky dictates moods
you condense steam into herbally-laced
mixtures hands-on practitioners
drink up
anything newsworthy
instantly disrupts / dissipates
==
invisible observers
force us apart
to find new spaces
Tutanekai
plays his flute
to whoever’s riding the clouds
the wind gusts
or thrusting naked accessories
at fascinated crowds
he’s the born chieftain of his island
logged in
and fed ferns at every meal
for the sake of feigning anonymity
he plays his flute / drinks coffee
at the local store
sticks fingerprints
on landmarks for the blind
this ritual never changes
==
the road
is packed with families
clambering for views
/ i smell sweat their effort-
flogged sounds
the stacks-on-the-mill ascension
we expect payment
for opening the books
for gesturing in their favour
ensuring
the blue roof doesn’t leak
==
we enter the long-distance lens
of the grey-garbed performer
preaching about the first birth
first howl
first mouth load of meat
==
at the gate
voice scraps are picked over by seagulls
workers return to their cubicles
to the loved ones stuck in their heads
you wash hands and face
early moonlight
chalks the roads
whitens streams
fondles stones
i wash my hands / face too
we mind map a long night’s journey
into the contours of a metamorphosis
a strange alliance
emerges / we let
body cells liquefy
extract core samples
from our solar centres
and for a short time
we live spellbound
attracted / a strange alliance
deliberately entangled