At Punakaiki she fell in love
with the ocean,
with the limestone,
with the wind

Cities of stone twisted below,
out, under, through,
passageways for salt, for secrets
While beyond kelp tossed its hair,
rinsing its locks in the surges of sea
and it was a long way down

She stood by the rail
and forgot to eavesdrop on the German tourists
as she listened to the language of the waves,
The crashes and smacks on the stacks,
the ocean,
the limestone,
the wind

She fell in love
and it was a long way down

to fall