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Thursday, December 28, 2006

Oh Yes, It's Thursday

I'm in holiday mode, which means I don't really remember which day of the week it is. And I don''t have to remember, until next Wednesday when I go back to work. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the day after are all public holidays in New Zealand. Only a few work on the days in between and many offices shut altogether. The shops, though, are closed on Christmas Day only, and the next day the sales start. I'm not sure how these are different to the pre-Christmas special offers when everyone competes for the Christmas shopping dollar. However, it came in handy because just before Christmas, I did a huge mountain of laundry, and then discovered our dryer wasn't working properly. So we have bought a new one at 20% off.

Oh yes, it's supposed to be summer. Someone forgot to tell the weather masters. Finally, though, we have had two nice sunny days in a row, and I have started exercising again after all the holiday food. I took a walk up the hill today and remembered this piece that I wrote a month or so back when I had one of my fitful attempts at writing a poem a day. This is today's contribution for Poetry Thursday:

Rapaki Track

A hawk lifts over the ridge
and skates in tight circles
on the blue rink of the sky.
Serrated wingtips blade the air.
He is searching for movement
but there is only the white stillness
of the grass in the wind,
water running in the cleft
of the valley. He circles and
circles and then spins off northwards
towards the city. A plane
is rising in the east to meet him.

I didn't see a hawk up there today, but I did see another wild species - a bagpiper. I think he goes up there regularly to practice, I've seen him before. And by the river, before I reached the hill, this fellow posed for me - he let me get as close as about a metre away before he flew off.

15 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

Very vivid - I can see that hawk - you may want to check your verb tenses though...

Catherine said...

Done! The "s" is right next to the "d" on the keyboard :)

Anonymous said...

I like the vision of the plane rising to meet the hawk. The wild and the profane. Lovely poem, enjoy the rest of your holiday.

kenju said...

"The blue rink of the sky...."

I love that line, Catherine. Our weather patterns are messed up too, but I am not complaining. It is supposed to be winter here, but today will be 60* and by Sunday, it will be near 70* again.

Michele sent me.

mareymercy said...

Great visuals. Well done!

Anonymous said...

Damn, my conection came loose and I lost my comment. Was just saying I loved it-serrated wings and scanning for movement. So vivid.

Also, that I went through a poem a day stage, but have sadly lapsed. Wish I could keep it up but is that ever sustainable?

Thanks for reminding me it's Thursday!

Anonymous said...

Very nice description. "blue rink"
I'm partial to birds.
Like the photo, too!

Deb R said...

That's a cool-looking bird! And I like the poem. As a couple of others have mentioned, the "blue rink of the sky" really captured my imagination.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Fabulous picture of a BEAUTIFUL Bird! Really WONDERFUL! Thanks for this treat today!

Lovely poem, too!

rashbre said...

Some great wording in the poem; skate, serrated, "white stillness".

And the bonus of a picture of a different bird, presumably called bagpiper because of the song?

Here today via Michele's.

rashbre

kenju said...

Hi, Catherine, Michele sent me here again. I hope you had a great day.

Catherine said...

The bagpiper was a real bagpiper. The bird in the photo is a shag, or cormorant. Sorry about the confusion!

Kay Cooke said...

I have enjoyed my visit to your blog after a bit of an absence and looking over posts I've missed. What a lovely walk you describe ... and the poem's so delicate and perfect. I can just see that hawk hovering over the soft golden grass of Canterbury - and the blue sky overhead. Blue sky? What's that again? I've forgotten ...

sage said...

I'm enjoying this easy period with little work, waiting for the New Year (and it's suppose to be winter here, but we ain't got snow)

Michele says hello

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

Love the poem, and the picture too. He would make a great quilt subject with that yellow face and bright green eye.