Sunday Lunch
by Connor McNabb
How can you be frightened of a Fantail
and not know what a Pīwakawaka is?
Don’t blame a bird for the destiny of death
or those natives for their foreign ideas
forewarned by your grandma
in her colonised rose garden
on a Coke-sponsored Christmas.
When Death comes for you
He will fly on opioid highs
sugar lows
and cholesterol cardiac crashes.
Not on the wings of a bird
friendlier than you.
It’s not looking for you
but the worms below your feet
that will one day soon settle in your skull
displacing your ideas.
Ka kite anō and a very good evening indeed.
Connor McNabb (Kāi Tahu) is a writer born and based in Ōtautahi. He is studying towards a Master of Writing degree at The University of Canterbury, and in 2022 was a recipient of the Macmillan Brown Prize for Writers. His poetry and short fiction are set for publication on ReadingRoom.