Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Tuesday Poem - "News from the Island"



Claire Beynon is the editor of Tuesday Poem this week and she has chosen "News from the Island" by Tracey Sullivan, a New Zealand poet presently residing in the Netherlands.

Tracey explains the genesis of her poem:

"For me this poem is about finding a path, often between opposites, finding balance, making sense of loss and longing. The poem is full of
contrasts: warmth and cold, presence and loss, external and internal, wildness/passion and the constructive taming of those. The literal story is of a chance meeting with the Waiheke-based artist, Te Ao Marama Ngarimu, whose work I admire. He worked as we spoke and I was struck by the time-consuming preparation of natural materials, the meticulous detail that goes into his weaving and how much life, passion and love is reflected in the finished work.

I have spent quite a lot of time on the Island over the last few years.

I am never ready to leave. It is part of the balancing act. The need to walk between pragmatism, judgement, decisiveness, and desire, emotion, connection. Making mistakes sometimes. Finding the path as you go along."

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