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GREEN short poem in Genghis Lotus Poetry Collection, a selection of poems free to read online. Webmaster for this site is poet Hugh Cook, born in Britain, educated in New Zealand, and the author of, amongst other works, the fantasy series Chronicles of an Age of Darkness.
Vocabulary note: my American dictionary defines "kikuyu" as one of the peoples of Kenya or, alternatively, as their language. My British dictionary, however, supplies a third meaning, which is the one used in New Zealand, where I come from: a kind of grass that originated in Africa, and a standard part of the New Zealand scene, at least in Northland, which is where I did most of my growing up. |
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Green is kikuyu, Tough grass of Africa Strewn across New Zealand foreshores, Growing well in the strong brine bite Of the wind from the sea. Itching against my skin, Not grass to flake out on and suntan. We used to suntan, then, Accepting the solar radiation, The sun's infliction, As a kind of benevolence. In Japan, my grass is green, A lesser grass, domestic, The grass we chose, Opting to be anomalous In the concrete landscapes of the conurbation, The ultimate metropolis, The final city. |
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May be photocopied for classroom use |
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