Featured Poem: West Rail Distance by Vaughan Rapatahana

02 June 2010
Featured Poem: West Rail Distance by Vaughan Rapatahana
West rail distance

          arm
around   you,

slunk
d
  e
    e
      p
in     sleep

    on
my   shoulder,

as West rail
stole us
home

to
tin shui wai,

l   o   n   g from
tsim sha tsui;

a thought

  strode
my mind -

that
we were

there:

finally
conjoined,

en route lifelong.



but,

when



I
slipped
closertokiss,

surreptitious,

your speedy twitch
                                                   away

merely

dovetailed our d   i   s   t   a   n   c   e.


still

some           way           to           go,

as the train

ceased,

with
us

un   coupled.





Rapatahana is a New Zealand Maori, married to a lady from Pampanga, where they have a home. Lived and worked in Asia for years—including five in Brunei Darussalam, one in PR China (Xi'an), six on and off in Hong Kong—plus several other places worldwide. Published throughout Asia—Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Aotearoa (N.Z), and Australia. Longlisted for Proverse Prize in Literature, 2009. Author of English Through Poetry series, User Friendly Resources, Christchurch, N.Z.
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