ice skating

the great white rink
the exchange of shoes for laced up boots and a blade
the cold wet hard deck you will fall on at least four times
ankle braces because of liability, we asked to see it
they could not produce it, we took the time anyway
in case they were needed which they were after three times down
it was as though the ankle usually upright and balanced was suddenly
a weirdly unstable pivot on which all your weight slides back and fro
like an airplane in a violent storm
or the scattered remains of memory
jettisoned during war
a time capsule of fictional memories
floating in the sea
waiting to be used in the
script of some cult movie

nobody knows what the suppression of history did
nobody was taught what memory was for
nobody drinks of the eternal dripping tap
the iron core of the mercury
sabbath

the old tree sleeps the kauri gods slumber deep
the trees held the land together once
but huamnity arrived by sea and
cut down all the trees

built cities with their churches
and the ice skating rink
where they met

she spinning like a ballerina and he,
dives in like a switch blade

then pose for the cameras the majesty of
white ostrich on ice

gold medals all round
drink up and eat the ancient cheeses we found