We began as workmates.
By day four, we were mates.
It was my work ethic he said,
said, if someone was a good worker,
there wouldn’t be much wrong with them.
20 years later this wisdom became accessible.
We talked, really talked
he was pleased for my academic success.
He’d left education young,
just two years of high school –
becoming a farm labourer and then share milker.
Had lived where he worked
saved his pennies
sinking his money into 15 acres jutting into the harbour.
Madness everyone said
“ totally mad ”
any farmer knew that land had no value –
“too small,
salt poisoned – no good for cattle or sheep.”
He took me once – one afternoon during work time
– “ I can sack you too!”
He’d owned it 10 years by then,
“ it’ll be valuable one day son – you mark my words.”
In the 2000’s it back dropped the America’s Cup,
capital gain : stratospheric.
Orphaned Islands (Un)poetry 