Connor Briggs

I love the way Connor Briggs, from Hastings Intermediate, plays with space in these poems, which reflect on the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, and on the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

– Jo Morris

Earthquake 1931

The ground shook like waves crashing d        n onto a beach front
                                                                                o w

The cries of children pierced my ears

 

Windows sh att e re d

 

Plates br oke n

 

The smell of jam was everywhere

                                r
                               e  t
                             v      h      u            i
A cow leaped o          e r    m     l     n     hedge
                                                      b           g

                                   Lockdown

I am asleep

 

I can hear the T.V

 

“Covid has come, covid has come”

 

The first day of lockdown has begun

Online classes everyday

 

Sitting still with my computer at bay

 

Do this

 

Do that

 

But all I can hear is the whines of my cat

 

The empty streets

 

The masks of pain

 

Oh how I wish for my life to go back a day

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