Pukapuka Poem #17 - Michael O'Leary

Ebb and Flow

 grapes outside my window grow

small bitter fruit

but green and restful to the city eye are the leaves of the vine

and I wonder who you are my love

out the other window of my room

are peach trees unpruned

nearly fruitless

beyond those I can see

beyond the two tall palms

I can see the gum trees

of Te Puke ō Wairaka, the hill once ruled by a princess

and I wonder who you are my love

sometimes you seem so far away

when I look in your beautiful eyes

and then

           

sometimes I am far away

not quite believing you are here

- darkness hovers and

I know I’ll never leave your side

as your voice opens my heart

and I know who you are my love

in this age of quiet uncertainty

when wars of past generations linger

in the present mind like comic characters,

larger than life, yet

like any ordinary thing

they too have fallen behind mushroom-cloud technology

- gone the way of all flesh

after the bomb there will be no flesh

no movement, no sound …

yes I wonder who you are my love

with sweet breasts and gentle hold

where does our love go

- let us wrap our arms around each other and forget

tomorrow is another day

when children need to be fed and clothed

their little fears and joys are ours in detailed sketches

so, the Monster will get us if …

the Monster within!

and you my beautiful woman

rich in taste and smell and spirit and touch

still I wonder who you are my love

- and who am I the dog

the dog of war and the dog of the moon

the man, the strength of sky who when not blue

opens his eyes and pours the bitter tears of separation

on the earth-woman

and love either grows or drowns

two hundred years I follow

with bearded face and wild eye

to find again the woman of my spirit

whose touch and smell I recognise like an instinct

in weakness I move away

in doubt I deny the existence of love and the past

but death and love are not on my trail

I wonder who you are my love

and the wonder of this life is in you

sand and shells and waves

                                    into which I dive

then swim underwater until I reach the calm beyond

                                    the breakers …

a beach is an adventure and our love is a beach

a beach on Upolu where you drowned when I was an Irish

                                    sea dog

and a beach is where we love, dreaming of the sea

            I wonder who you are my love

as the tide goes out

and comes in …