Poetry by Eartha Davis

    jxj CC




cuimhnich ormsa

the body 
as a fleshed 
forever. the body 
as a bloated 
tide, eddying 
into some 
porcelain 
hope. the heart 
as a temple. the heart 
as a church 
where our lost loves 
still pray. loss 
as a mountain-sized 
universe. loss 
as a dangling 
tear. birds 
as orbiting 
music. birds 
as shards of 
love letters. (birds & I, remembering…)

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's e abhainn an cridhe

The heart / knows infinite ways / to describe a / river / when it holds / a hand / it holds / a people / the gentle bleating / of a bird’s / birth / we think / (softly) /of bodies / rewriting themselves / melting in / want / an orchard / surrendering its / pulse / plucking forests from / naked / courage / & we think / (yes) / that self is / other / that tree is / other / an embryo / of a distant / kind / remember:  doves / donate feathers / so they can nurse / a planet / palms / shed holding / so they can pillow with / offering / a drizzle of / worship / & remember: / go in / in / in / in / let heart / seek the curvature of / her first / chest --

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Eartha is a woman of Ngāpuhi heritage living on Wurundjeri land. She placed second in the 2022 Woorilla Poetry Prize Youth Section, was nominated for The Best of the Net Award in 2023, and was shortlisted for the 2024 Creative Writing New Zealand’s Short Story Prize. Her work is published or forthcoming in the Australian Poetry Anthology, Wildness, Cordite, Rabbit, takahē, Frozen Sea, Minarets, Baby Teeth Journal,  South Florida Poetry Journal, Circular Publishing, Revolute, JMWW, LEON Literary Review, and ELJ Editions, among others.