Teresia Teaiwa

 

 

I am

Amnesia I

Amnesia II

Amnesia III

Amnesia IV

 

 

I am

 

Nesia

I am

Nesia

I am

Island

I am

Nesia

I am

Nesia

I am

Nesia

I am

Island

I am

Nesia

 

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Amnesia I

 

Mela
Micro
Poly (Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly, etc.etc.)

I am all of the above and more or less

one
Who cares whether you’re Black
small
or EXCESSIVE

I am Nesia

all of the above and more or less one

I land
on
all of the above and more or less one

Islander
Nesian

Mela
Micro
Poly (Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly Poly, etc.etc.)

Who cares whether you’re Black
small
or EXCESSIVE

I am Nesia

All of the above MORE or less

 

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Amnesia II

 

We have forgotten
how to remember

so much

so many stars
so many moons
so many winds
so many waves
so many fish
so many birds
so many flowers
so many leaves
so many trees
so many roots
so many ancestors
so many gods
so many relatives
so many relations
so many stories
so many songs
so many words
so many ways

We have forgotten
how to remember

so much

 

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Amnesia III

 

I remember now
how
I forgot
how
much it hurt
when you left me
It was easy
I just told the story
over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over
until the story became mine
but
not me
and that’s how
I forget now to
remember
how
much it hurt
when you left me
I just tell the story
over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over
until the story becomes mine
but not
me
and I’ve remembered now
how
to forget
how
much it hurt
when you left me

 

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Amnesia IV

 

Q:




A1:

Q:




A2:

Q:




A3:

Q:
A4:

Q:
A5:

Q:
A6:

Q:
A7:

What do you get
when you cross
an American
with
a Pacific Islander?
Amnesia

What do you get
when you cross
an American
with
a Pacific Islander?
American P.I.

What do you get
when you cross
an American
with
a Pacific Islander?
Stars and waves forever.

Which answer do you like best?
Can you repeat the question, please?

Which answer do you like the best?
The edible one.

What’s wrong with you?
Urrrrr...sea sick.

What do you think?
It depends. Who’s the Islander? The father or the mother?

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Teresia Teaiwa is of African American, Banaban and I-Kiribati (Pacific Islander) heritage. She was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, raised in the Fiji Islands, and now lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Teresia's poetry publications include: Searching for Nei Nim'anoa (1995) and Terenesia: Amplified Poetry and Songs by Teresia Teaiwa and Sia Figiel (2000). She is currently a working on a solo CD of spoken word.

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