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| Quo Vadis, Winston? |
Where are you going, Winston,
Son of the winterless north? We have lost count of the summers
Since first you ventured forth.
This track on which we find you,
Unmarked on any map,
Leads travellers to strange places.
Do you not fear mishap?
Countless roads I’ve travelled,
Oh ye of little faith.
Not once have I been bested
By spectre, ghoul or wraith.
My enemies take courage
From wishful thoughts and lies,
But while my star still leads me on,
Its light their spite defies.
The light that leads you, Winston,
That glimmer you call a star,
It comes from quite a different source –
A flame that’s near, not far.
Your guide is called Jacinda,
Of all our hearts the queen.
She is the one you follow,
T’is hers, the lustrous sheen.
Oh cursed is the news you bring me!
For now my folly’s known.
To have thought the baubles of my trade
Were made for me alone.
But now it’s clear the stardust,
Whose lustre led me on,
Was never meant for me to share,
And all my hopes are gone.
Did we not warn you, Winston
Of where your path could end?
Of places strange and unforeseen
To which it might descend?
See how Jacinda hastens?
How quickly her light doth fade?
Grasp you now, in the gathering dark,
The dreadful mistake you’ve made?
This poem was originally posted on The Daily Blog of 29 September 2020.
Goodbye Winnie.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to forget that Winston held the balance of power last election and chose Labour over National. He could easily have gone with National and Jacindas star would not have glowed as brightly, the opportunities would not have been there.
ReplyDeleteThank you Winston for that brave and wise decision, may your forty plus years contribution be recognised and rewarded in honourable retirement.
Peters, the enigmatic star as usual; no-one sure whether benign or malign. Great poem. Does The Lady of Shallott fit here? She could see clearly in the mirror, but when she stepped out of the magical place and interacted with the real world, she was lost. I think also of that philosophical query about seeing a train steaming towards a break in the tracks and disaster. Would you push the person beside you over the bridge parapet to save the passengers? I think Winnie has to go - being completely objective.
ReplyDeleteHe has his place in history but we are in serious times; he was smart and well dressed, but now is the time of citizens wearing plain black jeans and tshirt. He has done good and not so good things, but now we need unswerving commitment to the kaupapa, not a well-dressed butterfly
swinging between positions for the sweetest outcome, for him.
The Beehive opened as the administrative wing of Government in 1979. Winston was already in Parliament, as he has been through countless renovations. He has seen 10 leaders of the Labour Party and 12 leaders of the National Party during his parliamentary tenure. Saw off Social Credit, the Alliance, Unites Future (in all its forms), Mauri Pacific, the Maori Party and various one-person parties.
ReplyDeleteAlmost everyone in NZ has passionately agreed with him and also violently opposed him. The nostalgic populism was always a counter to TINA.
While I am sure they will put a bell in his coffin - just in case, his parliamentary career seems to be coming to an end.
It is time for his campaign to focus on accomplishments and legacy. Unfortunately, he just cannot stop himself from snipping at those who will impact that legacy.
The ancient Egyptian had the belief the heart contained the sum of the good and bad of a person's life and would weigh the heart against the feather of Maat, the Goddess of truth and justice. For all his campaign rhetoric, opposition tricks and folly, and the targeting of his populism against migrants and minorities - I think his heart may hold its own on the scales.
Jacinda doesna hasten m'heart. But Winston is strange, somewhere between Left and Right. More a lawyer than a politician. It disgusts me having to deal with him. Yet I posted FB about the imperativeness about climate change and only one of my 11 'friends' responded. An unlikeable fact has no way to go politically! You'll be deed by then, Chris. Not me.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Peters' guiding star was Rob Muldoon. Both in policy, and the way he treated people he didn't/doesn't like. Particularly the press which never seem to get to grips with him. I think he was an extremely competent Minister of Maori affairs or whatever they call it then, and may well have become a national Prime Minister if the powers that be in the National Party thought he was any "good under a high ball". Anyone who doubts racism on the right should remember that phrase. In fact Winston has caught more high balls than pretty much anyone on either side of the house. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a case that with Winston being retired, the last political will to undo 1984 (in all its forms) has now gone.
ReplyDeleteA poem for Winnie when he was ever only kit for our cause. He's about as legit as Muldoon, his ideal. All he really knew was defending his end. As a NZ Scot myself the lad had 2 ideals, getting on and the fair go. The latter came a long way second, as per normal. But Winnie never forgot it unlike most Scots.
ReplyDeleteDespise the lack of restoration of our auld(old) fairness. And vast improvement for Maori.
His lack of a willingness to ever take a backward step is also familiar from my borderer ancestors. Since I see so much through his 'heid' I think he now needs to do a bloody good thing.