you can’t write poetry about this government 
hate mail
death threats 
graffiti 

but not poetry 
you can’t write poetry about this government 
those grotesques 
never inspired no art
no heart’s ever danced
when they entered a room  
nobody has lost sleep
over their absence 

you can’t write poetry about this government 
purveyors of cruelty and debt 
like trying to find the beauty 
in black mould 
or concrete

Dominic Hoey  

Dominic Hoey is a writer based in Tāmaki. When he’s not losing money on his various vanity projects, he’s teaching writing to people who hated school.