Christmas Aotearoa
written by: Elizabeth Barton
@DestinyAngel25
This place lies far from snow-clad hills,
the hush of the wood and foxes’ footprints
wending lost secrets into the dark,
when winter whispers with muted hues.
Riotous colour impresses the senses,
from seamless ocean and bannered sky,
iconic pohutukawa mantled red,
snowdrifts of manuka in pristine joy
shed wildly in the windy mountains,
tracing bluest sky, verdant fields,
with mellow gold light poured richly
upon the panoply of Summer Solstice.
In the waning light of dusk, still air
cradles the dulcet voice of the thrush
until night enfolds with tender silence
the sun’s embers in blushed manuka.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
‘Aotearoa’ means in Maori ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’
Elizabeth Barton is an artist and poet from New Zealand, with work featured in Pink Plastic House, Fevers of the Mind, Black Bough Poetry, Flight of the Dragonfly Poetry, The Hooghly Review, Vita Brevis Literature, Nothing Divine Dies, and Literary Revelations' inaugural publication, Hidden in Childhood. A winner of the 2020 White Label Cinq competition, her collection Mirrored Time was published in July 2023 by Hedgehog Poetry Press. Elizabeth has authored two further poetry collections, All Revolutions Begin This Way and Auroral, both published by Alien Buddha Press. Her art is in private and public collections worldwide, including the V & A Prints Collection, London.
Latest posts by Elizabeth Barton (see all)
- Find the Magic Wherever You Are - November 3, 2024
- Rain in Pirongia - April 12, 2024
- Delight of Cows - June 14, 2023
