ROBERT JAMES BERRY - POEMS

Robert James Berry lives and writes in Dunedin, New Zealand. His work has been widely published. His 2016 collection Gorgeous was published by Sylph Editions, London”.

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​Scarecrow

​The farmer, of whom
I was terrified, had a
peculiarly creepy scarecrow.
I marvelled how the rooks
dared roost on its arms,
I could never go there.
I was aware its nose
was an old potato
and its battered straw hat
never spooked another soul.
But I remained chilled
throughout my childhood.
I still see it leering,
it froze my marrow,
it freaked me.

​Castaway

​I should like to founder
on a coral atoll
bathe my big toe
in glistening turquoise sea
paddle with dugongs
maybe dolphins
eat salty anemones
admire the rush of tropical sunsets


never get rescued.

​Dragonflies

Dragonflies inhabit swamps
monsters from the cretaceous period
grown thumb-sized.
How they hover
baffles physics.
I have seen them
gather speed,
halt.
I wear a jewelled dragonfly
on my lapel.


It is like fellowship.
​

​ Trees

​We planted 
a memorial tree
when you were born.
The council
gifted a seedling
and all the fathers
dug. I remember 
it rained,
I remember 
the mayor spoke,
he presented certificates
and you dreamed


through everything.

​Whales

​I should like to sing
with humpbacks
in the abysmal trenches
of this world,
paddle with the calves
and barnacled cows
and siphon krill
and take the long migration
to the north
and follow bird-stained archipelagoes
and rise from the sea
and make a splash
like I created great whales.