Pouliuli 11
by Doug Poole
Pouliuli 11
You are speaking
To me in Samoan.
I laugh, You laugh too,
and your body becomes
a siva, as you talk in the
language of youth.
Before I came to Niu Sila.
Pouliuli dwelt only in the
Depth of midnight. Before
I came to Niu Sila, the Sun
and moon cleared the path to
Fathers tethered horse.
You are speaking
To me in Samoan.
I cry. You cry too,
and your body becomes
a twisted Aoa. You become
the stories filling my eyes
who come to me in terror.
He laid his hands on you,
Breathing Pouliuli
He told you he was leaving.
You awoke in tears, and
It was true
Before I came to Niu Sila,
Poululi only existed within
the creases of Va between you
and I, the patterned Tatau on my thighs
Before I left I watched the day break
my little sister on my knee.
POET PROFILE
Doug Poole is of Samoan (Ulberg Aiga of Tulaele) and of European descent. He resides in Waitakere City, Auckland. He is the publisher and editor of the poetry e-zine Blackmail Press. (www.blackmailpress.com/index.html)
Doug has been e-published in Trout; Soft Blow; Snorkel; New Zealand Electronic Poetry Centre’s OBAN 06; Fugacity; All Together Now: A Digital Bridge for Auckland and Sydney; and many other e-publications.
Doug’s poetry has been included in Niu Voices: Contemporary Pacific Fiction 1 (Huia Publishers, 2006); Landfall 218: Islands (2009); Side Stream 24 (2010); The Contemporary Pacific (22:2, 2010); Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2010); Flying Fox Excursions: Albert Wendt’s Critical and Creative Legacy in Oceania, A Special Issue of The Contemporary Pacific, Honolulu: (University of Hawai’i Press, 2010); IKA Journal of Creative Writing: One (Manukau Institute of Technology,2013); Hawai’i Review - Issue 79 “Call and Response” (University of Hawai’i at Manoa, 2014); & Story Board 14 (University of Guam,2014)