There's all this talk
of learning to fly
of transforming from
caterpillar to butterfly,
by growing wings
of letting go and soaring
free as a red-billed gull
gliding on currents
free to be your True Self.
But have you walked
slowly and consciously
on springy dew-covered kaikuyu grass
down to the soft sand
just above the high tide line?
Have you kicked
along the ocean edge
sending sparkling droplets
high into sunshine
making rainbow crystals?
Have you thrown yourself
face down in a field
of buttercups and dandelion
wild carrots and plantain
and inhaled deeply?
Have you clambered down
through cool earthy bush
past the ponga, the ferns
and the parataniwha
to the bottom of the waterfall?
Have you danced
without a care
surrounded by unknown friends
joined together as one
by all enveloping music?
Have you battled through surf
and swum way out
beyond the break line
to the deep swell
where you can't touch the bottom?
Have you dived into the river
and drifted with the current
until panic set in
before your toes felt
the mud on the bottom?
Have you ridden a bike
on the track beside the water
lost your footing
panicked as it sped up
on the downward stretch?
Have you stroked this cat
recognising the uniqueness
of this particular fur
its smell, its texture
as the purring reaches maximum?
Have you learned
to differentiate the scents
of the lemon and lime
grapefruit and tangelo
as well as their tastes?
Have you eaten a plum
fresh from the tree
in the cool of the orchard
ducks quacking for a share
bees buzzing on clover?
I don't have time for
transformation, wings, flying
or finding my true self.
