Resonance IV
Panorama of the
Brighton River near the bend past the Flats going up River Road
I had paddled the
river many times and initially it seemed impossible to make an
image that matched the drama that Baxter found here. Larry and
I had even tipped over the canoe with my two young sons on board
a year or so before, looking for the right spot. We drove up this
day planning that the sun would be in about the right spot and
that some kind of image would present itself. At the sharp bend
where the river is dark and deep I saw the Manuka stick with the
grass wrapped around it from a recent flood, projecting from the
water and knew this strange symbol would contribute to the image
we were seeking.
Map of Brighton indicating where the image Resonance IV was taken from
enlarge map
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James K Baxter - Poem
references
The
Boys 1962 CP
Till at the rock
bend
their flailing paddles bruise
A black wide looking-glass where Ngaios gaze
And spread their thighs
A hole going down to the world's centre
waiting to swallow the sun, I think I am
the invisible drowned man.
The
River 1966 CP
Nothing as broad
as
the river can be seen
these days: it was dark brown and deep----
The creek runs
to the sea
finding its way without us
Letter
to Sam Hunt 1968 CP
And hear the dark
creek water flow
from a rock gate we do not know
Till we ourselves become the breach
and silence is our only speech.
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