A poem from essa may ranapiri’s new collection Echidna.

Māui & Prometheus Have a Meet-Cute

it’s not that pottery scene from Ghost
or the sweaty handprint on glass in Titanic

it’s nothing like the leaf-pulped perfume of Māhinaarangi
or the slow silent letting go of Tiki and Tūtānekai

it’s not dropping books in the hall and stumbling
in sync to pick them up
it’s not asking someone out at lunch twice to two
different responses
a yes and then
a no
sandwiches weeping inside gladwrap

or dancing silently at the end of things
how shoes scuff across polished floors
and throw up light and shadow
nothing so romantic as dinner or a picnic
pocket lint in uncut gras

it’s a small text in the late hours
Prometheus asking are you attracted to me
and Maui responding
yes
you took long enough to catch on

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed and will open again very soon.