In the mangroves

Standing amongst the mangroves,
I notice how fiercely they anchor
themselves in the mud, how they
have chosen to make this sticky,
impenetrable place
their home.

I admire that. The idea that you
could flourish in a place others
avoid, that you would love it even.
I try to disentangle myself from
the mud, but my gumboots
are stuck.

I could leave them behind,
of course. I could choose
to simply step out of them,
to walk barefoot
into a new life.

Kiri Piahana-Wong

Kiri Piahana-Wong (Ngāti Ranginui/Chinese/Pākehā) is a poet and editor, and she is the publisher at Anahera Press. Kiri is the author of two collections of poetry, Night Swimming and Tidelines, and co-editor of the anthologies Te Awa o Kupu and Short! Poto! The Big Book of Small Stories. Kiri is passionate about poetry, decolonising literature, indigenous voices and breaking down barriers for marginalised writers. She also loves nature writing, food memoirs, romance novels and her eight-year-old son. Kiri lives in northwest Auckland.