I.

The great and empty beach
Where stones lay unwashed;
Sun burn scolds pitted face
Logs leave off what is lost.


II.

If I had stayed,
I would surely have committed suicide,
It
was in my mind,
Like the absence of a lifeline
Keeping me safe as it pulls me in.

I had nobody,
And nobody had me.

Even now
That seems not so far away,
A guessing game:
  - How do you unwind loneliness,
  - Reverse the trend of solitude?

“You pushed everyone away”
Voices echo from the cave,

You all pushed me away,
A life I had to save.

I did not know how to live,
Their lives were theirs,
Mine was mine;
I was not one of them,
Just one of me,
All the time,
All the time.

• 23/02/18, Motueka/Ngatimoti