I belong to Oceania-

my heart upon the mainland

and my feet sunk into the shore.

 

Ko wai koe?

 

My hair is thick and dark

like my fathers,

a lingering wave of its own,

not quite a curl

like my mothers,

strong to the bitter end,

long

like my grandmothers,

alive

in its own right.

 

You could consider my hair the sea.

 

I belong to Oceania

I am water colours

purples, pinks, and greens.

 

My body is the bones

of the sharks lunch

and I dance the waltz

of palm trees

being whipped by the stern breeze. 

 

Ko wai koe?

 

Kei te aha koe i konei?

 

I belong to Oceania,

I have come home.