Rangitikei River Song

 

(in memory, Rob Newcombe)

A man can only
find himself when lost.
Such country, this,
where all men are lonely:
plateau, hawk and rivermist:

country where a man at last
might lose himself, an end of talk;
find that gaunt-faced other
man who stalks these ridges:
plateau, rivermist and hawk:

no longer keeping eye
for crumbling edges,
lovers or the weather.
Listening, rather, to the river:
hawk and high plateau,
rivermist below.

'Rangitikei River Song' from Doubtless: New and Selected Poems (Craig Potton Publishing, 2008), Sam Hunt 2008, used by permission of the author. Recording from the Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archives (2004).

The free tracks you can enjoy in the Poetry Archive are a selection of a poet’s work. Our catalogue store includes many more recordings which you can download to your device.

Glossary
Region
Close