11 March 1994
The voice of outrage is never wanted
just craved so deeply
we learn to forget
those who can’t
slowly starve this knowing
from hour to hour they die of being nice – inoffensive – suitable
eventually rocking no boats they become becalmed on a sea of stagnation they eventually mistake for tranquillity
At St Mary’s College in Wellington, in addition to spending hours practising the piano, I entered a national poetry competition. “Nothing is,” I wrote, “what is cannot be and not be”. That’s nailed it, I thought, on the tram going to school. Unfortunately Sister M refused to enter my poem. Both I and the poem were a disgrace. We were shocked. She never displayed passion but, that day, she had an important message. She thought I had dumped God. I hadn’t then. I was blatantly and badly channeling Gerard Manley Hopkins. I continued to write, and you can read my poems (so far) in chronological order or you can browse the list of poems A-Z.