Sunday Night In Raetihi. Poem by Michael Walker

Tired, I stop to spend the night in Raetihi
on my way back home to the River City.
I want to walk down the wide Seddon Street
and browse in its old-time shops.

Some shops are closed this evening
but it will be business as usual tomorrow:
Most of the townsfolk are home indoors,
but there are a few pedestrians outdoors,

Some young, bright-eyed sightseers
who take photographs and videos
with their smartphones and tablets,
probably taken with the cambered main street.


Tomorrow I will be out on the highway
but all is quiet in the motel tonight.

-4,5 March,2018.




I drive past the Otoko Pa, which was a fortress in the land wars,
but is peaceful today. I get out of the car to view Raukawa Falls,
which are narrow and low and curved but still make a constant din.
The river disappears near Raetihi, giving better driving conditions;
I stop for a break in Raetihi to stroll along the widest main street
in the North Island and some of the oldest buildings you would see.
It is only when I cruise across the bridge into Taumarunui
that the river reappears, as I think of the high school reunion,
sailing on the in-tide carried along by currents of the past.
The reunion starts today, Friday, under the marquee at the marae.