HOW ROBIN WILLIAMS BORE WITNESS AGAINST MY FATHER — by David Howard

An imagined sea is divided by bow and keel, the screws twist to spiral the swell. But you are not there after all, father. It is the best part of the worst century since you tested your sea-legs on the Dover-Calais ferry. Your 18th birthday found you off the coast of North Africa, scrubbing the decks of what you always called ‘a slave ship’. I see the hurt wonder in your eyes, toss this memory as if it was a lifebuoy and you were bobbing, ‘body wholly body’, near a whirlpool. 

But not this whirlpool at the bottom of Huka Falls; the constant rush counterpoints the throb of a helicopter. On the front lawn I welcome the Robin Williams. We are shoulder to shoulder, not quite touching, while I talk him through the fireworks primed for tonight’s New Year party. For the past three days anonymous movers and shakers have been hovering. But I recognise this timeless comedian: he wears the hurt wonder of you, my translucent father hanging in the air forever.

New Zealander David Howard is the author of 'Rāwaho: the Completed Poems' (Cold Hub Press, 2022) and the editor of 'A Place To Go On From: the Collected Poems of Iain Lonie' (Otago University Press, 2015). In a past life David acted as Tour Supervisor (SFX) for both Metallica and Janet Jackson, and he met Robin Williams while providing fireworks for the Huka Lodge Millennium. He also lived in the Czech Republic and Russia on UNESCO residencies. David has now retired to Croatia. His personal website is: www.davidhowardpoet.com

Artwork by James Keul