i’ve been paying my respects
which was exactly ninety bucks

i am avoiding eye contact like it’s catching
and i don’t want to give up my disease just yet

i don’t want to tell you of my peaks and troughs
i don’t want to give them māori names

Āta is the second poetry collection from Isla Huia
(Te Āti Haunui a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku).