- Te Awaroa(The Valley of the Long River)
Molly traversed the ocean on a sailing ship that floundered on sandbars within sight of land
she spilt with horses, fruit and other pale faces into a river valley drowned long ago by the sea
and weighted by her buttoned boots sank beneath the wails of migratory birds
fish unpinned her knee-length hair flicked their tails through her petticoats kissed her hands and lips farewell
but what everyone remembers is the waves carrying Molly ashore and how her husband knelt beside her
polished an apple from the capsized cargo on the left pocket of his torn, briny shirt
then sliced it in half with a bushman’s knife to reveal the five-pointed star of Venus
when he pressed it gently against her cheek the eggshell-white skin of his facewas so tightly stretched over the bonesit appeared to be on the verge of tearing
Serie (Cherie) Barford was born in Aotearoa to a Samoan-born mother (Stunzner/Betham/Leaega of Lotofaga and Fulu / Jamieson of Luatuanu‘u) and a pālagi father. Her latest book, Tapa Talk, was published in 2007, and her works have appeared in multidisciplinary books, journals, and Web sites.
Acknowledgment
This poem is in response to Albert Wendt’s novel The Mango’s Kiss (Auckland: Vintage, 2003) and the italicized lines are quoted from page 91 of that book. [End Page 328]