VRL Thonger
I'll write a poem every day, might be tiny but it'll be complete.
Coming Thursday
they're having a ticker-tape parade
to celebrate Team New Zealand winning
the America's Cup, Burling &Co
chugging down Queen Street
in a fleet of Hilux trucks
from Aotea Square and along
Quay Street to the waterfront
where crowds will cheer
the sail-past of what's
essentially a catamaran
with a 24m aircraft wing for
a sail on top of two
big canoes on top of
several surfboards that
hydrofoil across the water
with the odd pitch-pole capsize
interrupting the pedalling crew
adjusting hydraulics that keep
daggerboards angled for flight.
Not that there'll be any capsizing
on the gentle harbour waters
but you could never cross an ocean
with this high-strung nautical racehorse.
I've been looking for the name
of the winning boat but failed
– is it just Team New Zealand?
On the sail: Fly Emirates, Omega
and YSL. Other logos include
Steinlager (visible from above,
drone footage), Toyota, Nespresso,
Pirelli. The boats used to be called
Black Magic I, II, III, IV but those times
are gone, it's pure branding now and
I wonder what the homeless people
along the dirty Queen Street pavements
will make of the triumphant tanned
young men brandishing their trophy.
Day 45 Priorities
I'm sounding bitter, but I have a cold.