How the Story Went

Wanaka. The couple
Doing nothing hangs out
In the rented, sod-roofed

House that’s a green tussock
Flowering with kiwi
Summer weather. What now?

The woman sits upstairs
In her makeshift study
With her audiobooks.

The man sits on the porch
Beside the lavender
Trying to write stories.

They believe, if he can,
They’ll never have to work
Again, never go home,

Just live by lavender
In a flowering house.
Not how the story goes.