Mia Gaudin (Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland)
harriet
I
It was twelve
you crossed the road
in your dad's
" lawyers never lose their appeal" t-shirt
and sat down laughing
I offered you eggs
but instead
you gave me the marshmallows
from your flat white
and we talked
about uni courses
the ball
and the colours of the sky
II
We were ten
you went to America for two terms
and when you called me
with a half rehearsed accent
I cried
and told you to come home
you did (with candy)
so your dad had a party
with his lawyer friends
we stole cherries
from downstairs
and spent the night
at your bedroom window
spitting pips
and watching them roll quietly
down iron grooves
on your neighbours' roof
