A black-haired girl and her blond brother 
under the hand-built table. 
Beneath S P A C E D   L E T T E R S 
a voided love note 
a red Crayola heart. 
  
Net curtains 
white, 
dance with flecks 
of dust, and skin. 
Billow, drift, waft 
in the yellow air. 
Wooden sills and 
golden latches. 
  
I walk down the hallway, 
past the room 
where my sister sleeps 
with the bassinet and 
rose pinstripe paper.

I walk past the Roman blind, 
with the braided cord 
handcrafted by my mother. 
  
I walk to the big room where 
my brother is busy. 
He ties knots. 
Sweaters 
           in knots. 
Ribbons 
           in knots. 
Trousers 
           in knots. 
Knotted doorknobs, 
           locked in knots. 
  
Yellow earmuffs & plastic parachutes. 
The little girl and her blond brother, 
leap 
from the double doors, 
to the prickle patch. 
  
In hand-me-down shoes, my sister slips. 
Her teeth 
split 
her bottom lip.

The chainsaw rips 
the hedged edge, 
and shreds 
kowhai confetti. 
  
The scarlet 
sun 
sets 
into the lake. 
Water- 
colour spills, and 
eats 
Ruapehu’s pencil edge. 
  
Now 
the house is smeared 
with primary yellow paint. 
A fucking kayak on the wall 
in the room where I 
pirouette around my sister. 
  
I click through the photos and see my brother 
collide with timber, decked, 
when he jumps from the double doors 
with plastic bags 
looped
around his shoulders.