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