TURBINE | KAPOHAU

On Intimacy

Before
when I used to go round with the ocean          late night hook
ups drunken punch ups        surprising me with a present         in love
again the next morning         tantrums         frightening sometimes     I
remember        but I like to be pinned down           don’t you like to be
pinned down?

The day before my thirtieth                   I hooked up with a mountain &
the mountain took it seriously           now I’m married to the mountain
& that’s a domination . . .            of a different colour          in the winter
I spend baggy hours     paleing     in    his     shadow

I did get away for a day last week to south of Awakina          the ocean
puffed his savoury chest   we wrestled saucily til dusk      went to bed
with slap marks all over &     kisses in my eyebrows . . .

Old mountain    he knows    he’s a mensch    cuckold                 he’s old
he does his best       so         I guess        I’ll hang around                   plus
he’s introduced me to this river         his mate            who is beautiful &
focused       driven            interested in the world           affectionate but
with seasonal temper & on the same page as me more or less when it
comes to a coastal urge

                                                                   Meanwhile        all my friends are
pregnant &                     getting     divorced &                                      dying
I’ll stick with this mountain till Christmas                              by then all the
ceremonies will be done &         stale pledges nullified     see me flicking
through my contacts                    got my eye on you                     Puponga