Go Walking

Go walking South on a
soft warm evening.
Turn left up the rise
until the city spreads herself
out beneath you.
Everyone is roasting chicken
tonight so that fat
and salt linger on the air
together with the heated
fragrance of honeysuckle.
Walk past cheap houses
falling down steep slopes
where cats either welcome
or run while children’s bicycles
lie beneath dark windows.
Climb the sty and scramble
towards the ridge.
Tread purposefully on
unmown grass, past
post and wire fences holding
back coconut-scented gorse.
Look West to the men of stone -
cold, still beacon to ships
coming home from the Strait.
Climb to nestle at their carved feet.
Perch on stone cairn as
Red Admirals stage war
around you. To the East
the Orongorongos are
wearing shades of amber and.
late evening has sedated the Strait.
Mark the passing of the
Kaitaki and the Bluebridge.
Breathe in stillness and
the last of the sun as its
grip slips loose from
Seatoun Heights and its fingers
drag wearily across
the flat plain of
Lyall Bay.
Stay till the sun is
defeated. Cool currents
slip into the tepid
air flowing up from the
North. Stand in salutation
then turn to home.