This place lies far from snow-clad hills,
the hush of the wood and foxes’ footprints
wending lost secrets into the dark,
when winter whispers with muted hues.
Riotous colour impresses the senses,
from seamless ocean and bannered sky,
iconic pohutukawa mantled red,
snowdrifts of manuka in pristine joy
shed wildly in the windy mountains,
tracing bluest sky, verdant fields,
with mellow gold light poured richly
upon the panoply of Summer Solstice.
In dusk’s waning light, still air
cradles the dulcet voice of the thrush
until night enfolds with tender silence
sun’s dying embers in blushed manuka.
