New Zealand Poetry Society

TE RŌPŪ TOIKUPU O AOTEAROA

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Poem of the Month

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a fine line

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Supporting and promoting poets and poetry in Aotearoa

The New Zealand Poetry Society Te Rōpū Toikupu o Aotearoa supports and promotes poets and poetry in New Zealand. Established in 1973, we engage with individuals and communities across Aotearoa who share a sense of curiosity and excitement about poetry.

Poem of the Month

Sarah-Kate Simons

If I am Killed for Simply Living
after Althea Davis

If i am killed, let it not be
because I was
                                        f r i g h t e n e d

a lost dog
in the headlights, the corpse
forgotten on a road
white line of a broken femur,
the loneliness of a passing assuaged
by the tears of a stranger
as they rearrange the bones and realize
what they’ve found in this tender nest
of wild grass

may death be gentle, a dreaming
may death be kinder than whatever
brought
me here.


Sarah-Kate Simons
is a poet and writer from rural Canterbury but currently residing in Tauranga. She is widely published in journals and anthologies, and has placed in several writing competitions. Her hobbies include art and verbal sparring matches with her characters.