sunflowers
flop forward
and the moist grass fidgets
i take to the beach
where footprints dissolve
cliffs disassemble / monuments of homes
collapse in shadows
a magician sleeps
2
summer’s trickery
pulls at the ears of rhododendrons /
livelihoods
run their distance / rooms
no longer rotate with the sun
the road cambers right
and ends up frothing
into the sea
3
a cave
covered in clay-painted hands
picasso-scratched dreams opens to
migratory birds with the torsos of men
the winged appendages of past pursuits /
i braille walk
the naked contours
of half-finished images
then sink
into a layer of soft-crumbling rock
4
the magician
best known for his exploits on water
stands alone
giddy with hangers-on
juggling light years
small planets in their bubbles
faces fade in and out
signifying intakes of breath
a vista timecapsuled in a mirage
the noise of peaches melting on trees
lupins
splitting their pods
***
summer’s solstice
welcomes the hordes in animal skins
who take to the waves
hunting for hapuka
5
my curtains
smack at flies
i’ve taken to unpicking mirrors
the smiles / the grimaces
i’ve stuffed your tourist dolls
into the magician’s hat
6
bird families
using fingernails
swing amongst macrocarpa
the pregnant females
flightless and
nocturnal
wash their bellies in rock pools
they show off
the promise of things
the resurgent sun
the return of communal hours
i’ve learnt
to take off my coat
without being seen
i hang out on both sides of the road walk transparently
through heavy foliage
paddocks
couples lying with statues
i’ve learnt
to alter the night lights
of my clock
***
close to the regenerative edge
against a red-punctured ceiling
a kereru
skydives through fractures in clouds
~ Iain Britton
Since 2008, Iain Britton has had collections of poems published by Cinnamon Press, Interactive Press, Oystercatcher Press, Lapwing Publications, Kilmog Press, plus three pamphlets by Greendoor Publishing, Beard of Bees Press and Like This Press. A new collection of poems will be published by Kilmog Press in 2014 and Rufus Books in 2016.
