RICHARD REEVE

Just Us

It was always just us. And we knew it too.
Behold, behind the curtain was a child.
Behold, behind the statue was an old man speaking
through a device.

Under the bed, it was always just us.
No one seriously considered
it would be anyone else
hiding in the shadows.

Remember when you got happy,
totally out of it, clean gone?
That was us. You knew that, right?
I was the voice of God, or someone.

That event in 1717, and in 2004, that was me.
Well, you and me, though we were just minor tremors.
The big one was a joint effort from overseas.
That was us in the big number.

Just us in the photograph, laughing with you.
That abduction, yep, that was us.
Sorry we forgot to tell you about that.
Sorry we forgot to fill you in on the plan.

You know who did that, don’t you?
We did it! Mutilated their remains.
That was always just how we do things, kiddo.
It was always just us at the end.

A front on photo of poet Richard Reeve on a stony beach with mountains behind

Richard Reeve is the author of seven collections of poetry from various presses. His next collections, Fun and Games, and a poem-sequence, The Elements, are forthcoming from Maungatua Press. He lives in Warrington, to the north of Dunedin, and works as a barrister.

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