From “understory”
…… (to my wife, nālani
…… and our 7-month old daughter, kai)
kai cries
from teething–
how do
new parents
comfort a
child in
pain, bullied
in school,
shot by
a drunk
APEC agent?
#justicefor
-kollinelderts–
nālani gently
massages kai’s
gums with
her fingers-
how do
we wipe
away tear–
gas and
blood? Provide
shelter from
snipers? Disarm
occupying armies?
#freepalestine–
nālani sings
to kai
a song
about the
Hawaiian alphabet–
what dreams
will echo
inside detention
centers and
cross teething
borders to
soothe the
thousands of
children atop
la bestia?
#unaccompanied–
nālani rubs
kai’s back
warm with
coconut oil–
how do
we hold
violence at
arm’s length
when raising
[our] hands
up is
no longer
a universal
sign of
surrender? #black
livesmatter–
kai finally
falls asleep
in nālani’s
cradling arms,
skin to
skin against
the news–
when do
we tell
our daughter
there’s no
safe place
for us
to breathe #…
by Craig Santos Perez
from Split This Rock
Excerpted from the poem, “understory”
