Quelque Part Pres D'ici; Beaucoup De Miles.(Translation) . Poem by Michael Walker

Porirua is a working class suburb north of Wellington. There are many state houses in that suburb, where Sam Hunt lived at Bottle Creek, his house on stilts above the shore line. Hunt now lives in the Kaipara Harbour north of Auckland.
It is a night of heavy rain in Porirua and also in a wealthy suburb not far from them, many miles. In the better-off suburb the rain is falling on corrugated iron roofs which gives a very pleasant sound. In Porirua they are 'short on tiles'. In the classier suburb it could be like just another night with the electric blanket on-'if the door weren't open'. But why would you leave a door open at night, or any other time, letting other people see inside? I would never do that.
Meanwhile the state-house suburb is aasleep. They would hardly know of that other world 'near here; many miles'.
New Zealand cities do have rich suburbs and poorer, state-house ones. The poem is accurate in social observation and it implies the likable sound of rain hitting on the roof especially at night.
A final comment. It is not absolutely clear to me which suburb is being referred to, thus some ambiguity.