DAD LEAVES FOR WORK

daily
each morning
from the New Testament
a few verses
after cleaning teeth
applying aftershave
read silently
from the little book
with the cedar of Lebanon
wooden bindings
no man cometh
unto the Father
check for handkerchief
RSA badge
satchel
down the stairs
knees clicking
like worry beads
sufficient unto the day

Murray Edmond

Murray Edmond b.1949, Kirikiriroa. Lives in Glen Eden. Recent pubs: Back Before You Know (2019, Compound) two long narrative poems; Time to Make a Song and Dance: Cultural Revolt in Auckland in the 1960s (2021, Atuanui) cultural history; FARCE (2022, Compound) poems; Sandbank Sonnets (2022, Compound); Aucklanders (2023, Lasavia) 15 short stories.