Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Three November-December 2024
Aotearoa Poets and Writers Special Edition
Pythagoras, poem by Richard Von Sturmer.
Pythagoras
Shaking itself
after a swim
the dog leaves behind
black paw prints
on the concrete path.
And so we follow
those who have gone ahead.
According to Heraclitus
Pythagoras claimed
in his former lives
to have been a cucumber
and a sardine.
Do you remember
turning a key
and rolling back the metal lid
to reveal those tiny, silver fish
packed tight together,
glistening with oil?
Golden oil?
While the philosopher
contemplated a cucumber
lying on his plate,
down at the harbour
the wet paw prints
of another shaggy dog
evaporated
in the midday heat.
© Richard Von Sturmer
Richard von Sturmer is a New Zealand writer. He was born on Auckland’s North Shore in 1957. His recent books are the acclaimed memoir, This Explains Everything (Atuanui Press 2016), Postcard Stories (Titus Books 2019) and Resonating Distances (Titus Books 2022). In 2020 he was the University of Waikato’s writer-in-residence. He is currently working with filmmaker and musician Gabriel White as the Floral Clocks. They have recorded three albums: Desert Fire (2014), A Beautiful Shade of Blue (2017) and Gas Giant (2019). https://thefloralclocks.bandcamp.com/