A new poem by Kirikiriroa poet essa may ranapiri.

 

Kae and the Tohorā

 

did u think of the taste of his                 blubber even as u sat upon

 

his great mammal form ?

 

think of   unmasking the slip of his      great flippers that churn           the salt troth of the sea

 

to reveal the bones of his             canine heritage so starkly

 

think of how

he tried to shift his

weight

under the gravity of his

error

beneath the unkindness of ur blunt blows

 

the clack of it

dulled by flesh

shot through with glisten

 

<>

 

listen as an echo of some

thing u didn’t understand

 

did u leave ur weapons in   the grit of the beach

 

to take to him with ur   teeth ?  all bared to the sun

 

 

all white after the meat has       found its way into ur

 

 

stomach

as tapu as a tomb

after all the blood has dried

into the sand

and the sand is pulled

back into the sea

 

 

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The Friday Poem is edited by Ashleigh Young. Submissions are welcome at thefridaypoem@gmail.com