Two Toikupu by Iona Winter

26 Nov

Iona Winter (Waitaha/Kāti Māmoe/Kāi Tahu/Pākehā) was the 2021 Verb Writer in Residence with Katherine Mansfield House & Garden. Iona lives in Koputai, Port Chalmers. Her hybrid work is widely published and anthologised in literary journals internationally. Iona creates work to be performed, relishing cross-modality collaboration, and holds a Master of Creative Writing. She has authored three collections, Gaps in the Light (2021), Te Hau Kāika (2019), and then the wind came (2018). Skilled at giving voice to difficult topics, she often draws on her deep connection to land, place and whenua. The following toikupu were composed while on residency where Iona worked on a series of written responses to self-portraiture, by way of black and white photographs, where Iona developed her own experiences and understanding of bereavement.

Amputated Limbs

I walk in the deserted reserve, remembering our last time here,

and the lines on my belly that once held you close now shout, HE'S DEAD.

At the lightning-split tī kōuka I want to climb inside and rest awhile,

I'm so tired of this sadness.

Or should I head for the bowl formed in the hollow left by an amputated limb?

You know, the one where the kererū drink.

One broken branch, appears like a hand held over my heart

fingers curved in a caress, the wrist lichen-lined.

It is a surprise to see now that the sky also has a split —

where light meets dark, and sun kisses the rain.

Voice