Beetle

Photo of a yellow and black beetle on a pencil, walking towards the hand holding the pencil. The fingers of the hand are visible in the photo.

I am a beetle
trawling to a friendly hand;
lets me down gently.

Litter

photo of a hospital wristband lying on a bed of decaying leaves

Hospital gardens:
good people make bad choices;
littering wristbands.

Secrets

Photo of two tombstones in a cemetery with trees and plants around them.

Chamber of the dead;
while life bustles overhead,
entomb old secrets.

Jam

photo of a line of traffic cones by the road side in Auckland city

Casting nasty spells
witches hats on the side street
holding up traffic

Corporate ladder

Photo of a sky jumper halfway down on a jump from the top of the Sky Tower in Auckland, as seen from inside the building with the Auckland skyline in the background.

We think we are brave
craving to climb to the top—
too scared to jump down.