The Great New Zealand Remix and Mashup Competition - Literature Remix
At fifteen I was drawn by my body. the heavy body, the light body. was it only yesterday. on the walls of the kauri villa. once a desiccated seahorse. Small-scale sand bars... ripple. we are on the other side. We hear the wind, but never each others’ voices; It is always huge and we are always ants.
A child, I skipped alone, over cracks in concrete. I took my shadow home with me. stared directly at the sun. Shadow stands up, filigree shadows lie. I press my ear to, any promise of warmth. A pale faced dark haired mother blows smoke, standing still. In this soporific state are those who have been dead for decades. Around the curve No. 3 line, escape when I was growing up.
At eight I learned the word, ‘potion’. like spell. Breath of Heaven. Across the road, down to the creek. Into the goat cave high up a mud wall. We stayed until it got dark. You fill it up. Don’t lean away. None of the hair I have now, knew you when. I shave parts of my skull to the scalp. To the floor.
Starting things is so easy. Less of a bleeding cacophony, more of a groove. stand still and wait for a while. I like the simultaneous association/disassociation...they are narratives in their own right. It's hard to keep up with the flow of ideas, and I have to write very quickly. I’m not exaggerating or making it up. what we have built has fallen from lack of care.
It's Sunday evening here in High Street, central Auckland on a warm muggy evening which is typical of this time of year. I've spent the weekend in what has become a series of habits, reading, or just musing. the usual subject, art - new zealand - lit. stroking, Auckland city. And it works! As I write, the storm has broke.
Sources: (in order of usage)
Dylan Horrocks, Siso. Hinemoana Baker, Self-portrait at fifteen. Bernadette Hall, Sastrugi. Helen Heath, On getting away. Lynn Jenner, She used to ask me, what is it like up there? Renee Liang, Crossed Cultures. Ian Wedde, Shadow Stands Up. Airini Beautrais East of the river. Helen Lehndorf, Tincture. Emma Barnes, Don’t Lean Away. Sarah Laing, The novel beast. Russell Brown, Debrief. Cheryl Bernstein, "This is about earthquakes". Pip Adam, The Anzac Centenary Bridge. Paul Reynolds, Weekend wandering. Emily Perkins, 'Dream'.
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