Christchurch, 2010

The year finished like this:

us, uniform in green and white

the cathedral, alive

the flower wheel window

and the bronze bird

Few of us were believers in anything holier

than a cross worn around the neck

the only jewellery we were permitted

all the same, we mouthed hymns at the stonework

while the organ crowed

and the choir shepherded us to the next verse

Songs hummed by bored schoolgirls

a future ruin

God could have brought the tower down upon us

but he waited

he waited

First published in Australian Poetry Journal 14.2, 2025