widening the gap

in the wild night of storm the wind is widening the gap
or is it the roar of a government hellbent on building

a ravine between the rich and the poor Māori and Pakeha
in every choice they make. A school curriculum has lost

sight of the prismatic stories that shape us, sums that include
x-factor joy, and I am stuck on this freight train

in the widening gap because I see no end to damage and despair and
I’m filling an ocean with tears crying over lessons that slam the door

in the face of poverty or another language or the tangata whenua
and this rumble gap is the distance between sick earth and well earth

between building roads and restoring our hospitals and schools
and here I am holding my fragile torch to the widening gap

in my sodden socks no idea where to shine the light next yet
except maybe on all those protestors from the 1960s who are stomping

in the streets even louder now with their dreams our dreams where women
are heard where Māori are heard my bones breaking and I am blowing

all around to resist persist hope dream begging to fill this gap with precious care
to build glorious people-friendly bridges out of knowledge and foresight.

Paula Green
October 2025