Outing

After a day out -

     poking about

     the hills behind Akaroa,

     exploring an old Maori pa site,

     walking around cliffs

     a hundred feet high

     before plunging down

     to a bay full of young seals

     frolicking in coastal ponds,

     eating lunch

     perched on rocks

     just metres away,

     putting sun-block

     between shorts and puttees

     on lower limbs

     now exposed to

     cloud-free sun,

     then up and over the next hill

     and out onto Goat Point

     before heading off home -

          a pair of bright red knees.

© Valerie Laura

10 Feb 1997