for•te

my tattoos and
half sunset fringe
open lined eyes
drumkit lips
draw you to my
red velvet throne
all our whanau
have that same
laughter crink
in our nose
we sing before
we fight
we love before
we run
we never lock
the front door

straight in the heart
of stories told
from the head of a table
like my Māmā did
and her Māmā before
sip slowly sip good
it stays chilled
hoodie cups my hair
my hands are a chorus
guiding us forward
take your time
slay blessed queen
smile hoops swoop
tell me
what are we made of?

 found + fiction

samoan
chinese
new zealand
taitoko
london
san francisco
california
western samoa
ADoS
wood block printer
textiles
sewing
lino
vinyl
gong hei fat choy
the yang of the water ox
the blues and greens of luck

my good sis
I feel fresh
you can
hear me fine
right?
let’s start
with the
real stuff
shall
we?

little bit of pressure
little bit of pressure

Momoe

angerbunkingoffschoolcigarettesciderchildhoodwitnessingdomesticviolencesubtlecovertracismatschool

[Even though I’m Pasifika I’m also London.  I’m both.  It’s possible to be both.]

Afatasi the Artist

survivalstardustivebeendoingsomehellamagicalshitandnobodyreallynoticescoconutsfriedchickenhelladifferentfood

[I’m an Islander but I’m definitely from the city.]

Our Mums

when our Mum’s met
they left us
no patience
they went straight to church
and sat near the aisle
they ate the bread of christ
with their hands out
amen

my Mum would invite your Mum over
to eat seafood at christmas time
they would eat mussels and lobsters
ocean people eating ocean food
it was a feast
with the leftover taro from the night before
Mum would slice it thin
and fry it up for breakfast

my Mum would invite your Mum
to bingo
there would be
a situation where our Mums
would bark out orders
we would know our Mums
we would know all the Mums

fresh font

garamond me good
shyness sleeps sweeps seeps
remember?
remember when -
in front of all of my friends absolute 100 rejection

swirling mirror ball
the carvings in the McDonalds at Mangere are crazy
I had a whole photoshoot there
between big macs and fries and a [white] cheese suprem[acy]
do you know Beyonce?
do you know The Spice Girls?
yeah man
I see them on the bus

here’s a story of a lovely of a lovely Affrobunch
Marcia      Marcia      Marcia

okay blue eyeshadow
I see you blue eyeshadow

yes 
yes side pony 
ride on pony 
show pony

I’m telling you
hair like mine is policed
I am the only one the one and only
Samoan Punk Singer
Singing Punk Samoan
I keep the beat
I am the beat
we beat
the beat
DYI disco realness

I’m a regular schmegular person just trying to get by
Black Babies have been dying at the hands of white doctors
medical racism
targeted in the birthing room

I’m tying the past
the present
and the future

I can never say goodbye

MIND YOUR BUSINESS
- PERIOD -