Isla Huia

where are your bones?

after ‘e ngā iwi o ngāi tahu’ by Keri Hulme

where are your bones?

on surrey crescent in sundown
out west, beyond the lights that wait for my body
on the islands, that’ll someday choke me out
until all i know is celestial

where are your bones?

on the mountain where i become a tipuna
my chakras on the spitroast

where are your bones?

under that electric sky, which is not a human blue
it keeps me naked

on the lawn
under a feather duvet

where are your bones?

they are in supine position

i am a moth to the light
my world is on fire

and it is so beautiful
i could vomit

where are your bones?

somewhere in suburbia
or at the lake which men made

where the māmās sit hot
tit deep with the kids

where are your bones?

on the outside of my skin
depending which way

the sun rises

where are your bones?

on the open road
next to the wineries

talking about the
ten-year plan

where are your bones?

in raetihi,
at the urupā

where are your bones?

in arizona, learning about
the earth in sunstroke

where are your bones?

in nogales, where me and all
the babies have eyes

like lunar fondue
that drips down hot

where are your bones?

inside the house
of my heart?

where are your bones?

on a portuguese
island?

in an italian
theatre?

in croydon?

in the
crater lake?

in the
wharenui?

where are your bones?

in sandringham,
in a box on the mantelpiece

laughing at psalm 23,
with yours.

originally published in Talia (2023, Dead Bird Books)

Isla Huia (Te Āti Haunui a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku) is a te reo Māori teacher, writer and musician. Her work has been published in journals such as Catalyst and Awa Wāhine, and her debut collection of poetry, Talia, was released in May 2023 with Dead Bird Books Publishers. She has performed at the national finals of Rising Voices Youth Poetry Slam and the National Poetry Slam, as well as at Christchurch’s Word Festival. Isla can most often be found writing in Ōtautahi with FIKA Collective, and Ōtautahi Kaituhi Māori.