Read the poem being discussed on Jesse Mulligan’s show on Radio New Zealand on 14 December 2017
DIANE BROWN
Gannets
‘Would you say we have
an equal relationship?’ I ask
on the drive back from Muriwai
where we had stood
for twenty silent minutes
watching the gannets land.
‘No,’ he says. ‘I think I have
the upper hand, being particularly
careful not to give ground.’
‘So you see me as a threat?’
He doesn’t answer, as if
he intends ensuring control
with a minimum of dialogue
like the flapping wings
and warning cries of the gannets:
the oldest claiming the choice
(more sheltered) flat rock in the middle
while the young scrabble for places
on the outer circle. They could choose
another rock of course. It’s only
their need for belonging
that keeps them clinging to the margin.
‘Gannets’ © Diane Brown
This poem was first published in a collection of poetry by Diane Brown, Learning to Lie Together, Godwit, 2004, and recently in the anthology Bird Words, edited by Elisabeth Easther, Vintage, 2017.
Read the story being discussed on Jesse Mulligan’s show on Radio New Zealand on 7 December 2017
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