When My Beloved Proenza Schouler Tries to Sell Lei for $1,500

By Noelani Piters
I
remember I exist
at the braiding of
             consciousand con
          sumer,Kanaka
        and culpable,
      desire anddesired.
  That “exotic”is an X-
 Acto knifeholding
  fast tothe skin
like latex.The gaze
     a garterguarding.
   Dollar billsdance
     on the disgraced
       graves ofmy
            ancestors.I pay
                in amnesiaed
               ‘ŌleloHawai‘i,
in sutures on the
tongue.

Source: Poetry (November 2024)