The Friday Poem: ‘Comeuppance’ by Kerry Dalton
Image: Getty Images / Archi Banal
A new poem by Paekākāriki poet Kerry Dalton.
Comeuppance
All week a seal has come into our house
through the cat door.
Three times we returned him to the sea, thinking
he had got lost. But he came back.
Then we got the DOC ranger involved,
who put him into the ocean further
afield. But here he is again.
We have limited our conversation
while he is around. Little seal’s ears and all that –
No talk of the fact that orange roughy
is nearly fished out, let alone
how the ocean is warming.
We may have given him a fish
or two, against the ranger’s orders
After all, how can you resist
those big brown eyes?
We have been polite
about the smell, only
opening the doors and windows
after he leaves.
Today we came downstairs
to a seal party. They were everywhere.
Clearly, the seal was taking advantage.
One or two maybe but 40!
I flapped at them with a tea towel.
Mike brandished the coal shovel.
We took the seal aside and told him that
we were very disappointed in him,
that this is our home and he needs to treat it
with respect. The seal lifted a flipper
and pointed. In our front room,
was only swirling sea.
The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are now being accepted until 31 January 2023. Please send up to three poems in a Word or PDF document to chris@christse.co.nz.
Kerry Dalton
Kerry Dalton (she/her) is a poet, writer and social activist, who lives in Paekākāriki. She has had work published in 100 NZ Short Short Stories, 'A magpie stole my heart' and her poem 'To Pluto on the occasion of its demotion from being a planet' was placed 3rd in the NZPS 2019 International Poetry Competition. She is inspired by people who work for positive social change and is privileged to have been the Chief Executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau for over 15 years.
