Ring of Fire by Mary Eliza Crane

At the wane of a long season
of heat filled yellow sky,
fire consumes mountain forests
infested, decimated by bark beetles
feasting in their own changing world.
I swim deliciously in a warmer river
without current, cringing at banks
so barren I could walk across.
The water is too hot for salmon
to return upstream and spawn.

Earth degrades to dirt, crumbles in my hand.

Early spring bloomed in a

Ngawhatu by Maggie Rainey-Smith

On
the Richmond bus to Nelson passing Polstead Road


you
only had to say it, and everyone knew, unspoken

we
almost dared not look, it stirred such potent thoughts

caused
laughter, mocking, and a deeply seated superstition

innuendo
out the window, the road that leads to there

To
where? You ask? But
we all knew, we knew for sure



that�s
where the loonies go and you�ll go there for sure

Abdullah, The Servant of God � by Wade Bishop

He was not a handsome man
not even in possession of a face that was easy to look into
it was journey twisted and wrinkled like a baby at birth
........

That girl, by Heidi North-Bailey

She rides side-saddle
into her own clich�
her heart is pumping smoke
boots heavy with things unsaid
sunset flecked with mud

she�s breathing fire
flames curl from her lips
slow-dancing lovers
with cigarette smiles

slink and hips
turn on the clock

and still

after all this time
after so many battered
leather jackets
crumpled sleeps
on strangers� couches

cups of tea
from chipped mugs

Like a Reed Boat by William S. Rea

Like a reed boat
that slipped its mooring

Set drifting on
the current

Or the heaping up
of ripened grain

In the time of
harvest

He was farewelled


Gone, in the
fullness of his time

But that final
slipping away

Still came like
something unexpected

Like an empty
pier or a barren field

Which once
brimmed with purpose

Bustled with life
and vigour

Now there was
silence

Except