GERONI-MOA

all the new thinking is about moa, cloning moa, bringing moa into civic square in one long line

each with shit to air (the criticism of the thin-shelled eggs, the misassembled

bones). all the new thinking is about

moa, stupid-big, signifying nothing & leaving

trails of pronged footprint & feather. a species is a tribute to its unlikely egg. oh

moa, there is lovemaking occurring beneath every chimney in the

nation. take it this way: you are the great revitaliser. everything i have ever said to you

i have said with a mouthful of small hopes. the meat of your birdbones once gripped

me incomprehensibly as you

navigated the long islands. your gift is a great bellow, followed by the turning over

of a full glass recycling bin. your presence here was not requested, it was

formulated. we wanted you back but we wanted you better. this time

stronger. now, you make it as far as the port

before you remember the peat bogs, the beaks, &

you come to a stop. everything i have ever loved i have loved

with a mouthful of small doubts. i am eating my lunch in civic

square & you are just another miracle. pick up

the bottles. quieten down. yesterday

i had an orgasm. moa, you are indignant. all the new thinking is about you, & yet

i have reason to believe i am the best thing that has ever lived.

Cerys Fletcher

Cerys Fletcher (she/her) is in her first year at Te Herenga Waka. She is in love. She can be found on instagram as @cerys_is_tired.

Cerys reads her poem in the latest Starling here