​HOW COULD I MISS YOU WITH KUMARA IN THE OVEN - A Poem by Essa May Ranapiri

By essa may ranapiri

essa may ranapiri (Ngāti Raukawa | takatāpui they/them/theirs) is a poet from Kirikiriroa / either we smash capitalism or the planet does with us inside / they have been published widely throughout aotearoa and internationally / links to their other work can be found here: essawrites.wordpress.com / essa completed an MA in creative writing from the international institute of modern letters in 2017 /essa's first full poetry collection will be published by Victoria University Press in 2019.

Essa May Ranapiri

​HOW COULD I MISS YOU WITH KUMARA IN THE OVEN

started reading the book backwards
to get through the 25 minutes

from notes to final section
to the middle to first line of first
poem to
acknowledgements to
isbn
every last word so brand new
 
i don’t need to be afraid of what comes next
if i’ve already looked at where the monster ends up

splotching plate with aioli
spearing each chip with the fork
i rinsed clean in the sink
after it lay in the sink
for about a week
 
i’m reminded our people travelled so far
and how far we’ve come coz
i’m scared to leave the couch

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