Blue Hour, Jo McNeice, Otago University Press, 2024

Tidal 

Through a fisheye lens 
through & through. 

The psychiatrist says
‘It’s your life.’

White lights shine out of paper, 
blue lights in the air. 

Yellow lights appear  
on people’s heads. 

Drops of blood 
on my hands- 

ants through desert sand. 
Angels like carrier pigeons 

darken the sky. 
A postcard came this morning 
soaking wet: 

Resolution in the sea. 
Cherry tree. Fish eggs, 
dulse & carrageenan. 
Silver tongues, catching tiny fish. 
Messages delivered through  
serrated teeth. 
Now just you wait  
with your mermaid scales 
desiccating.  Buried in 
the sand. Eyes open,  
waves washing over 
the top of you. 

All this life blooming  
in the water.
All this life blooming  
in water.

Jo McNeice

The readings

‘Not out of the woods yet’

‘Aro Valley’

‘Blue Hour’

Jo McNeice completed a MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters,   Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington in 2013. Her poems have been published in  Turbine|Kapohau, Sport, JAAM, Takahe and Mayhem.  She lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Otago University Press page