Bio
Nicola is a high school teacher and writer from Raumati South in Aotearoa New Zealand, living on the lands of Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai. She has penned two poetry collections, 'leaving my arms free to fly around you' (Steele Roberts, 2011) and 'Working the tang' (The Cuba Press, 2018) and has been a guest at the Queensland Poetry Festival (2012), Tasmanian Poetry Festival (2018) and a few LitCrawls (Wellington), as well as readings in her neighbourhood. At present, she is working on a chapbook and a full-length collection delving into her settler-colonial Scottish ancestry. You can find some of her work at gannet-ink - poetry and performance at the tideline
Nicola Easthope
silver eye
tauhou bounces
on stem of yellow marigold—
a green arcing rodbird heavy
enough to bend but nottobreak
at the top of the bounceis a small ocean-facing craft
a half kiwifruit stuck by a nail
in the trellisa golden rowboat
grounded at high tide
that the wee bird
could've easily landed
by perching
on the thin brown rind
but noit bounces
for its sweetnessand the flowerhead
smashes against the bow
like a soft bottle of champagne