Have No Fear! – Eileen Duggan

Have No Fear! – Eileen Duggan

In any element, you are scot-free.
Whatever faction triumphs you are safe.
Matching its medium,
What is abeyant
Assumes responsibility.
The switch from gill to lung
To you is nothing.
Behold the complete axolotl!
And should, as some say,
The world end by fire,
You, a salamandrinne,
Would usurp the powers of fable
By wits alone;
If wits could flick up fire
As smooth as breath to nostril,
Your ribs would glow,
Your chest become a brazier –
Of all mankind
The final opportunist!



O'Sullivan, V. (Ed.). (1979). An anthology of twentieth century New Zealand poetry. Wellington: Oxford University Press.