VEINS WITHER
blood spills,
—pooling on the cold, sterile stainless steel—
—-—the sap of mātaī.
scalpel carves through flesh
—peeling skin back
—-—like ripping harakeke.
a karakia is muttered—
—-—-—–too late.
they thrash,
—-veins wither beneath the skin
—-—-glistening river eels.
—-snap.
——–grind.
————–crunch.
—-————-bones in the taniwha’s jaw
fluorescent light strips
—-–whakapapa from skin—
—whitewashed.
—sterile.
—merciless.
in this hōhipera,
—māori remain
—-—dissected on the tray—
—-—-——-scraps for the pigs.
heart twitches
—-–beneath those latex gloves
Hā—
—-—-———–—-—-———gone
Charlotte Galvan
Year 13
St Andrew’s College
