poetry

To Our Mayor

To Our Mayor

We know your heart holds
a thousand holes
as ash settles on us all.

It would be fair if you felt the flames
one burden too many,
if you asked why this, why now?

Instead we see you on the tv
confident and grateful
patient and protective

ably leading us
away from the brink.

We see how you suffer for us –
the late nights and early mornings,
the thick binders, the endless weeds.

You’re our own Jacinda
and we love you.
You’re engineering us a future.
You’re saving us a home.