Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Tuesday Poem: Canterbury Oblations

Great God Ruamoko
we humbly beseech
you accept these
our offerings –

    30 billion dollars
    7.8 billion litres of spilled
        untreated wastewater
    535,000 tonnes of silt
    181,000 damaged homes
    40,000 chemical toilets
    8,900 Christchurch emigrants
    1,200 demolished
        city centre buildings
    546 rest home evacuees
    2 cathedrals
   
    185 lives


This poem is a further in my Ruamoko series. Hopefully, explanations are not needed.

Visit Tuesday Poem for more poems this week.

6 comments:

  1. I'd like to see more of the Ruomoko series.

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  2. Hi Michelle _ thanks for your comment; have a look at the following posts on my blog – 24 Apr, 28 Feb, and 13 Dec, 8 Nov 2011. There might be one or two more to come.

    Cheers

    Keith

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  3. As a Chriscthurch resident with a structurally twisted, T3 land zone home, and the usual tale of liquefaction et al -- "I hear you."

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  4. ...well it's enriched our vocabulary, if nothing else. Thanks Helen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, I echo Helen's comment. As a resident of New Brighton on TC3 land, your poem succinctly encapsulates what has become our new reality.

    ReplyDelete

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