Poems from SaltOfTheIsles
I am an aspiring Sāmoan/Wallisian artist from the Tutuila island of Sāmoa. I've been living in Hawai'i for a few years now, and have been involved in the local art/poetry scene. I identify as Fa'afafine, the Sāmoan third gender, and I am typically interested in topics of identity, struggle, and the decolonization of the Pasifika.
When I was 10,
While brushing my teeth I noticed
my gums bleeding-
And my mother told me
That it was just bad blood leaving the body.
That...
Dear motherland
When can I come home?
I sleep
On a bed
A hundred wars
Away from you.
The air is cold
And there is nowhere to cry.
Dear...
My mom is a thousand ticking bombs
Wrapped recklessly
In coarse,
Black,
South pacific skin.
Pervaded by the thick stench of marlboro reds,...
One
of the most
Significant instances of misogyny
Within our time
Is the disembowelment of the earth.
You would think,
That with our...
To live and breathe
As queer and Samoan-
Is to walk a hundred tight ropes-
Only to fall,
And land on another tightrope
On another tightrope...