Aunty kept you in a house
on a wall
no ordinary time keeper
we in the innocence of playground
laughing cuckoo cuckoo
lived breathing sea and sun
pine soaked air our saturation
hunger and happiness in our hands
we ate ravenous meal to meal
time measured by the sun on our backs
beads of sea-salt on our water baby selves
the last game of go-home-stay-home
into the coming night our dirtied feet
scrubbed in the bath-shub before bedtime
under the pot and saucepan
our winking Aotearoa sky
marshmallows and the choking smell
of driftwood-fire heat
time’s eternal line stretched beyond us
all these moments
strung shells round our beach-bronzed necks
Now on my wall
you cuckoo a reminder
of temporality
moments immeasurable
the beauty of a life
me wanting to free you
Tracey Peterson
Christchurch, NZ
Our winning poem
This month’s winner, Tracey says of her poem, ‘Keeping Time’: “The poem is largely nostalgic. The inspiration came with a cooler air temperature signalling autumn’s approach. Reflecting on summer memories reluctant to let go of this season, the poem is also a nod to time and its fleeting nature, the magical moments that make up a life and the freedom needed to fully embrace and live it.”
