DAy 997: Kotuia

There is a silence that cannot be shaken from the system
In the moment
You realize
You are no longer fluent in the only language that ever made sense to you
Most nights
I try to find a ember burning bright enough to light myself a promise
That i will fight not to lose the words i have left in the darkness

There is a secret shared between the bodies whose tongues have not yet been severed
Its a song that sings itself into the evening
It is a promises to continue
To persevere
i recognize its twinkle in the eye of these rangatahi
the way their bodies bend to fit the language of atua most of their generation has named forgotten
but instead
they carry
epitaph scriptures of maori myth on their skin
it is a banner that waves until the last hour of day
it is a weight you cannot feel until you are without it

i had forgotten
that language was more than the words spanning the distance between past and pressent
it was the mold that begged to call me hawaiian
human
and i have found my forgotten pieces in the crack between your teeth
in the parcels of polynesian scripture you’ve allowed to marinate
i have found my story
in the song your language sings
in the story that is bursting from your veins
in the promises you continue to make

there is a moment
of silence
that cannot be shaken from the system
a collapsing of sorts
that begs for you to open your eyes
and realize
there is a generation of souls who footsteps are the crumbling quakes you feel in your forgetfulness
they are there as a reminder
of your greatness
and your duty to your tongue