The Spike: or, Victoria College Review, June 1928
Rock Gardens, Kew
Rock Gardens, Kew
Flat, dripping, scrub; and drifting, misty, rain;
Bare rocks that climb—climb from a falling stream,
A little lone cascade, as friendly as a dream.
O, singing waters on an upland plain,
Tough, wind-blown scrub, and muddy path, and pain
(Dear pain) of feet grown tired in walking; gleam
Of Tama's water, under clouds that seem
Eternal: friends, I would be friends again!
There's music on the Waihohonu plain
Of falling waters; Tongariro's chain
Knows hope of sun beyond the rain, and time
For climbing, with the wildest rock to climb.
But here: the rocks are grouped and plants are named
And every lonely, wiry shrub is tamed.
—R.