Love poem

Houses are likened to shoeboxes but shoeboxes are
not likened to houses. A car is likened to a heap but
a heap is not likened to a car. A child is a terror but
terror is not a child. A business might be a sinking ship
but a sinking ship is no business. A bedroom is a dog’s
breakfast but a dog’s breakfast is not a bedroom. A bad
review might be a raspberry but a raspberry is not a bad
review. A haircut is likened to a disaster but a disaster
is not a haircut. Books can be turkeys but turkeys are
never books. A holiday might be a riot but a riot is not
a holiday. A garden might become a headache but a
headache is not a garden. I dream about you but you
are not a dream.

Gregory O’Brien
from Beauties of the Octagonal Pool, Auckland University Press, 2021

Over the coming months, the Monday Poem spot will include poetry that has stuck to me over time, poems that I’ve loved for all kinds of reasons.

I have loved Gregory’s poetry across every collection, from Location of the Least Person (Auckland University Press, 1987) to House and Contents (Auckland University Press, 2022). He writes with sweet wit, word agility, sonic attention, across roving subject matter, and with deep-seated heart. I am always moved, surprised, in awe, nourished. The humour in ‘Love poem’ gets me every time, and then, when I reach the end, and the world stalls, I take a long inward breath, and say, yes, this is what poetry can do.

So let’s do poetry!

Gregory O’Brien’s recent projects include an exhibition of poems and paintings at the Manchester Poetry Library, U. K., Jan-Feb 2024, and  ‘Local Knowledge’, an exhibition of collaborative paintings made with Euan Macleod, which is at Te Manawa, Palmerston North, until March 2025.