Saturday, June 5, 2010

Inland (Winter)

We discussed visiting an island
you need a permit for. I booked
two seats on a boat. We needed
to set off earlier than the brunch
she'd scheduled with friends.

It's a holiday weekend! Have you been
to the Wairarapa? Of course, but
who can pass up a cosy wine with lunch?
Meanwhile our mutual friend arrives
for tangi on Mt Ruapehu, ancestral home.

At one point two degrees celsius
I am happy it's not me going there.
But I remember driving in June,
two thousand and one, past
the mountains, wearing all our clothes

wrapped in doonas, in a Barina
without heat. On arrival in Auckland,
we were blue.I study The Chateau
on its website, decide summer in
the mountains appeals. One day.

Only after all these conversations do I
remember boats and I are not always
compatible. And consider the fact that
the difference between two destinations
can be as small as a letter: 's' or 'n'.

5 June 2010

1 comment:

  1. I remember that cold journey too, that you wrote of at the time. Don't know how you survived it.

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