The Farewell – Pat Wilson

The Farewell – Pat Wilson

And so, one day when the tide was away out,
The gulls there dancing along the edge of the sea,
We walked across the sand, down to the boat
And began again – she to protest and appeal
I to refuse, looking aside, and then turning
And smiling…
For was it not as if I had
Whatever it was that she asked, but who could persuade her
Of that? nor was it true that I could pretend
For ever…
and all the gulls there, crying and playing,
Hunting, and all the reds and browns and yellows
Of late afternoon, and the last tints of the blue
Going out with the tide, and the boat drawn up there fast
Becoming high and dry on the sand as we talked.




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