Offerings / Reynard

 

At night we leave
scraps out in the garden
for the fox.
I sit in the study with
the lamp off for hours, forehead
against cold windowglass,
willing him to appear –

quiet wanderer,
sharp-toothed ghost,
red coat black in the flat of the moon and

nothing.

Only
            me,
            darkness sitting heavy on the roof of the house,
            and the lights of the town down the valley
                        over the fields,
                                    reflecting off the sky.

Niamh Hollis-Locke

Niamh Hollis-Locke was born in England, but now lives in Pōneke. She holds a BA in English and History, a BA(Hons) in English Literature, and a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. Her work has been published widely in Aotearoa, as well as in the UK and Australia, and in 2023 she was shortlisted for the Ginkgo Prize Best Poem of the UK Landscape Award. She was the guest editor of Minarets 14 (Compound Press). In 2025, Niamh was awarded a mentorship by the New Zealand Society of Authors to work on a children’s fantasy novel.