Leilani Burgoyne is a Pacific poet currently living and working in Wellington. She is a New Zealand-born 'afakasi Samoan, who is also of German, Tongan, and Scottish ancestory. She has previously had three poems published in Niu Voices: contemporary Pacific Writing and also co-edited Polynesian Panthers in 2006. She has a Masters in Pacific History and is passionate about the future of the Pacific and issues to do with identity and migration.
Visionary
There is a voidless
gulf
that exists
somewhere out there
It is there that I bury
my fears and insecurities..
my commiserations
for yesterday
and my fear
of tomorrow ..
To write
is to be free
of that reality.
It is through writing
that I have discovered &
seen the falsity
of the world that
I have been entertaining
How did it come to be that
false Gods have so easily
come to dominate
my reason?
I wonder at the
misuse of my passion
and drive..
at the absurdity
of a life
wasted
I seek redemption
in the crook
of the night..
in the lucid visions of
madmen who believe
emancipation
is possible..
…possible…
Black Night
I know nothing
more
than that the current
state of my Unhappiness
is all consuming
I long to feel
ALIVE
in the
DEAD
of the night ..
I am about to take
a sharp
U-turn &
there is a
very real possibility
that I will
Crash..
I wonder whether
the impact will
be great & am
curious
about its weight
compared to
the threat of
choosing to
continue
down this path
...that will lead
to the Garden of Eden…
that is
so long as I pay my taxes.
True Love Exists.
When I am here
ALONE
I often find that the
vibrancy of the life
that is mine
pales in comparison
to the agony that is
my love
for you.
You are not
the pretentious
reflection
that is
my reality.
You are the REAL nifo oti
that drives home
that reality
& peels back the
layers of foolishness & pride
that stifle
my SELF.
When I am joined
to you
I can feel the love
that is us
pulsating,
reverberating,
moving…
in the unseen space
that exists
at the edge
of all things
defined.
Here, only
True
Love
EXISTS.
