Pohutukawa

Winter has gone
At last into retreat
And spring is here

The sky is blue
With little cloud now
















Has given the Pacific flow
Into Whangaparaoa Bay
Its colours too

The striking backdrop
Of trees
Are evergreens
















Along the shore
Of Orewa
















Those of which
I have never seen before

The midday sun steams on many heads
On the beach
And mixes well with Westerlies
As all kinds of people
Are scanning the sands
Doing all sorts of activities
The beach demands

















And here am I
From the distant land
Of the West Indies
Walking in the springtime air
On the beach
















A seagull one of many
Stopped to gaze on me
As pipi shells cracked
From the pressure
Of my jogging feet

Drenched am I with mist
Before my hiking gig is complete
















On the coast I see vulcanized rocks
Amid marram dunes
So unlike the coral stones
Of Port St. Charles

The granular dust
Between my toes
Is grey in every way


























And not at all like the white sands
Found on the Bajan bay
Yet this Kiwi scenery is awesome
And makes me want to stay

I see trees standing in a line
Both small and tall
Whose massive crowns
The coastal winds do mold

















They welcome and salute
The clapping beat of the sea
That spreads its froth
On the shoreline for all to see

Further on, are trees
Whose prehencile roots
Grasp the coastal cliffs
Like hanging baskets of green
















They spin such intricate webs
As they creep, burrow and dive
















To stay alive with fervent toil
They search for moisture
And that firm bed of soil
On which to coil
So adaptive
Wherever they choose to grow

They colonize the bays
Coastal rocks and the forest
As they proudly stand
With gnarled trunks

And stringy barks of steel
Their greenery
And growing ways
Have environmental appeal

To a Bajan like me
They look like mahogany trees
Without the pods
But I'm told that they are not

Only pohutukawa trees
Full of Maori mythology

















A twig from pohutukawa
I took
To study
Its technology
As I penned the poem

To see pohutukawa trees all over Orewa
In gardens and around Hillary Square
Fixed my attention, this beautiful sight

With silvery bulbs hanging
So dazzlingly bright on display
As spring draws nigh with such a delight

















This changing scene caught my eye
So too, the warmth in the air
And bright colours in full bloom
Lapping up the sunshine electrifying rays

As I strolled on the beach in skimpy wear
The pohutukawa silvery bulbs
Were no longer there

They had all changed

The the pohutukawa was now ablaze
With deep red blooms glowing
On every bough
Brings the festive season
To the hearts
Of all the folks
In beautiful Niu Tireni

They love pohutukawa
For it is their Christmas tree.

















Arkles Bay

©Paterika Hengreaves
2004 – 2005/Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand