Gales Forecast
Michalia Arathimos (IIML, Victoria University, New Zealand)
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I
today the wind weaves itself/ out of scarves /as usual
it is unsure whether the work / is good enough; the land
has such high expectations
II
the scarves: your eyes / feature in their design / don’t worry
your skin is only the wind’s prey / the scarves
its attempt at harbouring
III
catch, catch land / land though is deceitful
place a foot and it moves / it was
never there
IV
no wonder the wind is thin / and cold /no wonder
it makes itself up over again / a restless thing
a phoenixed element
V
On land people carry numbers/ as if waiting
for coffee / the wind takes from them
small objects
VI
but they are insensitive / they do not haggle
with the wind / instead taking their numbers
inside for lamination
VII
soon though the wind / offers up a new tree!
the people are incredulous / but quickly now
the wind has taken exception
VIII
better secure the hatches / better
take in those flimsy clothes
from the line
.
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Michalia Arathimos has published short stories and poetry in several publications, including Best New Zealand Fiction Volume 4, Lost in Translation: New Zealand Short Stories, Sport, Turbine, Metro, The NZ Listener and Blackmail Press. She is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters, where she is writing a novel.
