Tuesday June 27, 2006

Box on a Pole

Kia ora ano.

Well! Here I am again. My time is running out and I'm feeling a bit sad about it all. But to cheer me up:

Yes, my dog Chance is with me to share the day. And as it's very cold in the little bach this morning, I'll take her for a walk before I start work. That way we'll both be warm and she'll settle. She's a huntaway, so she needs *lots* of walking...

And so do I.

Before I go, I'm going to open my next parcel. So I can ponder it on the beach. As you'll see, it's the most stolid parcel yet - it's own box! And the intriguing 'mixed fibres' ribbon... It's a beautiful object as it is, I'm loathe to open it.

Day 11 Care Package:

A veritable treasure trove.

The top of the box slides off. Inside are the broken pieces of a china cup - a fern painted on the side, Wedgewood! 'Man Friday'. Then there's a piece of moss, possibly lichen or even a seaweed of some kind. There's a small fake gold padlock. There's a length of what I think is unspun but carded (is that the word? not fleece, anyway) wool - soft and springy. That fills up most of the box. There's a pine-cone. There's two bright scarves, red and gold and white. A red tie with tiny white polkadots.

But my favourite item: he matuhi - a bone needle. An actual needle made of bone. When I named my book 'matuhi | needle' and put that phrase in the poem 'Tangihanga' I had never actually seen one.

But here one is. It might not be bone, it might be plastic. But it looks like the real thing.

Did Sian know, or is this just a strange coincidence...? Ooooooweeeeeeeooooo...

I'm going to put the needle round my neck on string and walk on the beach with it. And with Chance.

x

Beautiful walk, except that Chance frightened two beagles half to death. They kinda snuck up on her - and me. I always put her on the lead around other dogs but these ones came from behind...She chased them over the sand-dunes out of sight. All I could hear was a little yelp.

Which I'm taking as a good sign, as it wasn't a big yelp.

I think she plays a bit rough. And she's a huntaway - she chases things.

Anyway. After much screaming on my part she returned. Hopefully the beagles are none the worse for wear.

x

New song's called 'Fragile Katie'. It's a kind of a spoof song. It came from the box contents and a Woman's Weekly headline in a magazine in our toilet. The headline is the kind that has a real catchy rhythm, a music of its own. I've been repeating it in my head for weeks. For some reason our household ended up with two copies of this magazine. One is an outrage.

Anyway, it's immortalised now. Again, a country feel.

I won't say too much more about it. It's not a terribly deep song.

Next.

x

Day 12 Care Package:

Ha! Another drawing, this time with a message:

Switch
GO SLOW

It's a box on a pole with wires running out of it on either side. Again, scribbly and cool. On the paper there's also traces of white paint. It's amazing how white comes in so many different shades. This paint looks dull, almost grey, against the paper.

OK. Here goes.

x

Lawdee, this one came screaming in out of nowhere.

It's called 'Go Slow Switch', and it's a downright no-nonsense Rock and Roll toon. The words are kinda nonsense words - I picked them more for their sound than their sense. I remember listening to a documentary about Brian Eno - with David Bowie interviewed. Bowie said Brian would give him half an hour max to come up with lyrics, and the less sense they made the better. Eno wasn't a big lyrics guy - he saw them as a means to an end. He grew up on the 'doo-wop' songs, he said, which made no sense whatsoever, but were irresistible nonetheless.

So I'm taking a leaf out of Brian and David's book, here. I reckon it's working - the lyrics make a sexy sort of meaning out of themselves. It's a great song to sing, raunchy as. I guess it's this album's equivalent of 'Free'.

Right. So! I'm off. Back tomorrow. Hell. This retreat thing is really working.

x

H