Best New Zealand Poems 2002
  
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and-yellow

you realise there is no hope
left for teachers when in the
school newsletter it says
we welcome nichola poor
& look forward to working her.

you want there to be no more bell.
you begin to wish for pills for
your children instead of
lunch from a plastic décor box.
you wonder why their paintings
contain less & less
you begin to sound things out
stretching the oh’s ~
vowels start to look like
phone numbers
3 o’clock looks like a wedge of cake
you are rushing to finish
oh there you are tui
by dinah hawken
& then you hear
ella say:
and-yellow and-yellow and jello
angelo.

& he is
our number 4.

 


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