Selina Tusitala Marsh

naming myself
  

“Tusitala”
teller of tales
that i never heard
till yesterday
born away
for another life

today
the tale i tell
is my own
theirsyours
a way of seeking
some more
of Sāmoa
of my sacred centre

the tale i tell
will book its way
through tongued histories
timeless mysteries
sanctioned violence
spaces of silence
telling lives

“tala tusi”
tell the book
worded spirit of brown
in theorycreativity
our sound made
renown