Knocking

In that summer most of my friends took the ticket
and ate their mother’s chicken.

I knocked on many houses.
A whole suburb in one day.

Until every house in Melbourne had heard me ask:
‘Are you happy with your energy provider?’

I did it not for the money
but for love.

For the moment at the end of each day
after the whole of Australia

had told me they’re happy
told me that I am miserable

I could curl up at your feet
and never book the ticket home.

Ōhinemutu

The waterfront at Ōhinemutu
The steaming lake

The settlement of swans
The dirt church

The taste of sulfur
On the tongue

The weeds to get lost in
The wind which carries

All of us out on the water
Then safely back to the banks

The site where everything began
The site which will stand final

All of it is free to hold
I turn my back and claim none.

Minna-Rose Reid is a Wellington poet, and recently completed the International Institute of Modern Letters poetry workshop.