Monday, January 23, 2006

A Poem About Being A Foreigner in New Zealand

I was wandering in Harvey's site just now and checked out a poem he had written of reading in Turbine Magazine . I loved it and lifted it ... ahhhh, the anarchic world of the blogger.

Before and After

Before New Zealand
I did not know:
— that pigs have teeth
— that abalone has another name
— that there is a gumboot capital of the world
— that distance is a cruel deception

After New Zealand
I know:
— how to return a stranger's smile
— how to wrap my tongue around every syllable
— how to not be anonymous
— how to be a foreigner


Margaret Vos

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