From “Understory”

For my better half, Nālani, and our girl, Kaikainali'i, on her most memorable birthday

nālani cuts

kaikainali'i's minuscule

fingernails while

she dozes —

"the assault

of Oceania

started with

Guam" — fighters

attack Okinawa,

Hawai'i, the

Philippines, and

South Korea —

#yesallwomen

the most effective method to do

[we] stop

kai kai nali'i's body

from becoming

target practice —

projectiles piece

furthermore, kick back —

nālani brushes

kai nali'i's hair

at the point when she

wakes sings

the names

of body

parts in

Hawaiian language —

who will

recall the

names of

young ladies vanished

from reservations

what's more, maquiladoras

from towns

what's more, schools

#mmiw #mmaw

#bringbackourgirls

nālani assembles

the clippings

since even

[our] nails

are ten

percent water —

outside, mānoa

downpour falls

as enormous

as eggs —

inside, nālani

lies on

her side

to bosom

feed kaikainali'i

in bed —

they fall

snoozing confronting

one another,

still locked —

I settle

with them

furthermore, for

a second,

kai kainali'i grins —

Indeed what does

Does she dream

about it? her

full breath

rises and

falls like

lord tides —

her delicate

rib confine

shows up and

vanishes like

a coral

island delegated —

my girl,

I know

our accounts

are heavier

than stones,

yet, you

should convey

them with

you no

matter how

a long way from

home the

storms take

your kayak

since you

will continuously

track down cover

in our

stories, you

will constantly

have a place in

our accounts,

you will

continuously be

sacrosanct in

our sea

of stories —

hansom