​the lagoon’s dark
belt of sky the collector
recites bird names into

my feathers
pūkeko shag paradise
duck in the raupō fringe

how it feels to be
kin and canned
a faint scent in 

a god’s rank river
a tickle of need
an island split apart

with an incantation
green and grabbed
sung and shared 

the collector spoke
firm and meant it
each encroachment 

a dim solar flare
slim cool witness
under glass