The Friday Poem: ‘Our Lady’ by Carin Smeaton
New verse by Auckland writer Carin Smeaton.
Our Lady
every noon moses calls to our lady
of the rosary
she jus ‘round the corner
eyes always 2 her heart that gurl
‘cept for the time she set the methodist
church on fire
feeding it all the dreams she ever held
bright & o whatta night
her wide eyes
fatally fixated on that lone spark
which had finally come into her life
but never quite got 2 ignite
not wit dem firefighters down the road
anyways (always so charming always heroic)
they never stayd for long
tho in her bones
she always knew they wudnt
cos she weren’t never the apple
o nobody’s eye
nor the vortex
of no storm in the sky
just another thorn in the side of pitt street
where deep down
(she once told moses)
she’d always known
she never quite reacht life as a viable
& that made him call her
a negative bitch
but it also made him worry
Carin Smeaton, 2018
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Carin Smeaton
Carin Smeaton is an Aucklander living in Grey Lynn with whanau. She works as an Indigenous research librarian. Her book, Hibiscus Tart (Titus,2024) was recently longlisted for the Ockhams. Her new collection, Death Goddess Guide To Self Love (Titus, 2025) is hot off the press & available in a library or bookshop near you - if not, please request it!
