A Streetcar Named Diaspora
By Zech Soakai
Poutasi silver,
red-and-rustic
melted plastic
and wheels with friction
the year was
two thousand and fifteen.
Cousin,
Silafaga
thank you,
for this car,
this driver’s seat,
this vehicle
— that zooms
melting present into future, kissing
future’s cheek against the past’s lips.
This car,
this thing
that race
we’ve won.
Your mana,
I have carried,
this car
— that taonga
Second hand object of joy
I play, play, play
with this ta’avale
and remember:
What it’s like to be home
here,
and there,
and what it’s like to
race between islands
and know that I belong
to all of them.
Poutasi = Village in Samoa that my mum’s side of my family come from
Silafaga = the name of my Samoan cousin who gifted me his little metal car to remember him by
Mana = Māori for life force
taonga = Māori for treasure, inheritance, object of sacred value
ta’avale = Samoan for car