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Old Fashioned Rambling Rose

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Traditional Rambling Rose by Bronwyn Hegarty 2020   She loved this rambling rose it symbolised her kind of order Smuggled in her bag from Wales smiling innocence at the border. No sniffer dogs back then. Now it grows in my garden deep pink double petals open to the sun Spreading a wondrous scent tickling memories of our Mum. She will love it when she sees the photo. No, she won’t remember the wildness how she cultivated a garden from here and there Propagating her own nature reserve of sorts cutting, replanting, sharing the fare. Insisting I fly home with plants in bags of dirt. The colourful chaos grew too big in the end and we helped her move to a manageable space We took what she gave, keeping it light not liking to see the change in her face. Old fashioned rambling rose, shared, love remembered. Bronwyn Hegarty, February 2020

Kokako why did you leave?

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Kokako - Image by Manu Bird from Pixabay Kokako why did you leave? Kokako! Why did you leave?  slipping away without a sound monogamy did you no good nor your song of defense they came anyway People with their ship rats, stoats, weasels, feral cats  hunting was easy too friendly, unwary  feeding on the forest floor nests invaded, eggs taken Male and female inseparable singing of love until  sold to the highest bidder - collectors, museums - saving you from yourself It makes me shudder that money speaks to take those with a unique voice a 2008 extinction Kokako declared null and void  So ecologically naive, they said I ask, you or them? but now labelled as data deficient one sighting has brought you back one, two, three stay free beautiful manu this world is not for you!

If I could sing

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Korimako or Bellbird by Sid Mosdell If I could sing If I could sing, my voice would float high in the sky, a melody of  te aroha, a crescendo, a dawn chorus, the throaty bell sounds of a Korimako. I am retiring. Halleluiah!

Flame Dance nectarenco

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Bellbird taking nectar from the redhot poker (Kniphofia uvaria Flamenco) by Bronwyn Hegarty, 2018 Flame Dance nectarenco Did you know I was watching? as you sucked, quietly Did you know I was clicking? when you leapt from flower to flower I was delighted to catch you in the act Did you know that? Green sheen against red my heart was still as you landed stopped for a while to drink heart beats pounding   Did I miss the best pose? before you flew back into the tree Did you know how many shots I took? when you flew in and clung to each flower close shots, long shots, testing the new camera while you took in the sweetness of the red hot poker a short lasting flower but so sweet. You took advantage of the sweet nectar I exploited your closeness to my window to try out the zoom lens and the depth of field gaining confidence as you drank oblivious to my joy watching behind glass Thank you...... Kōrimako aka bellbird, Ant
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Three Trees by Bronwyn Hegarty, 2017 Three Trees Walking fast, walking past, a stark and tangled beauty against the moist sky Three trees Grey on green almost unseen as life's heaviness crushes me I stop to look, a moment taken from the wrangle in my head Smooth bark and windswept leaves, stand as protectors of the lees. Protect me dark honey trees, a nthelmintic, anti-bacterial M ānuka , kahikātoa , red mānuka, tea tree , Leptospermum scoparium Good for wood, building, spears - a direct jab to the heart of it all Long-standing, guarding with the wisdom  of years spent watching and waiting. Raggedy tag trees, so hard and strong, giving hidden power Nondescript leaves, sweet and good, a once precious tea Sugary sap rising with the lengthening light Strengthening my eye for the pending fight, a life situation An earth vibration.