Kathmandu refresh

There is recognition in these worn-out brick walls

hung over with bougainvillea in cerise and dusty green

and thick black bundles of low-slung power lines

but we startle turn step aside for the next tooting scooter

to thread through the constricted lane past high iron gates

a sleeping dog and crates of empty Pepsi bottles.

For we have lived here before, the language now

emerging from hibernation when poked with sticks

of need, words that provoke smiles and wonder

and engagement warm as the winter sun

as we order cups of sweet milky chia and sit on dusty

plastic chairs to watch a thread of Kathmandu weave by.

Spheres

We experience the sun differently

but all share the same cool moon

as its phases paraphrase our fortunes

from Auckland to Kathmandu.

Loyal

Pay for nine

and get the tenth coffee free.

It’s a thing at every café in town

and we’ve acquired a collection

of loyalty cards to match

a Weetbix All Black set.

So we take our pack

wherever we go as we don’t always know

when we’ll need it next, and as you can see

being loyal is important to us.