This poem was inspired by a sculpture of renown Wellington/New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfiled. The sculpture is located on the corner of Midland Park on Lambton Quay.
Katherine was born in Wellington in the late 1800s, the houses where she lived in the suburbs of Thorndon and Eastbourne are local landmarks. Her short stories, poems and journals are still on the school curriculum. You can find out all sort of interesting things about her writing here: Katherine Mansfield Society – Patron: Professor Kirsty Gunn
Katherine died at aged 34 in 1917, having lived a brief, tumultuous life.
The Katherine Effect
An out-stretched hand emerges from the words
Invitation?
Temptation?
A promise of an adventure in which
To lose myself
Even if just for a moment.
A gesture of welcome resonating
Through the generations
Redemption?
Elevation?
An unknown, until I consume
Your words and allow your world
To wash over me
Released into my imagination.
Angele Toomey Poetry 