Andrew has fixed our broken chair, I should be
able to do this, my grandfather was a wheelwright
(the trade reminding me of how old I am).
He enjoys a challenge and whistles
I was trying to find the word, perhaps German
or Japanese, of enjoying being at leisure while
watching someone else work. Andrew suggested
Schadenfreude, not the word I was looking for.
We were finishing morning tea with Wyn’s French
chocolate cake when my eyes were hooked
above the conversation, avian flight, wings
pinned back like a collected butterfly, gliding
over the roof out of sight, body coal-black,
wings otherworldly, loved by sunlight pouring
the gold, such porous beauty has to be airborne.
The earth is shattering, the radiance fading.
