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Ada Duffy

Whakarongo ake au


In daylight, tī kōuka blow quiet fireworks
acidic chirps of tūī, the rising and falling
shore rolls up as a paper pūtātara
stranded spiderweb spins loose swirls

acidic tūī chirps are rising, or else falling
northeast thawing, Cecil on Sunset Hill
sips tea as the web spins loose
to duplicate once awake, tethered or distinct

Cecil on Sunset Hill, northeast thawing
while all the trees shake and shiver
voices duplicate once awake, distant
we karanga from hers to mine

as all the trees shake and shiver
chipped hills, sunburst brick blisters
I hear her karanga from east to mine
am I at the wide or narrow end?

Upon chipped hills, sunburst brick blisters
pop fireworks of tī kōuka in daylight
neither the wide nor narrow end, ease
within the shore’s soft call, a paper pūtātara

Twin Flames


My father smells of ash

fake teeth from fifty-cent mixes
Xpressway 7-inch singles
mowed lawns and weathered skip bins
loose-leaf archipelagos
appendices and canned beetroot
drillbits in moleskin pockets
a well-tended fire
second-hand conversations

My mother smells of dusk

dead toitoi in a Temuka jug
sea-spray on a dejected sliding door
something green in the Kauri tin
sun-stained stovetop coffees
mothball Swannies
all the windows open in winter
a well-tended fire
good intentions and bad execution


Ada Duffy (Kāi Tahu Whānui) was raised in Ōtākou under the shelter of Pukekura. She is a student at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. She recommends listening to Echoes of a Friend by McCoy Tyner.