ka naʻi aupuni
by Donavan Kamakani Albano
Detail of photograph by Danielle Shandiin Emerson
i.
needless to say, simulation is the highest form of flattery.
perhaps it’s why māhū denotes the castrated one.
so take it, hawaiian. if by your hands, at least
it feels like rupture. cause that’s aloha ʻāina ʻoiaʻiʻo, right?
reach for molokaʻi within me, and just rip ʻem. in his words
i became what i’m meant to: silent
indisposed
smoke
ii.
call me a eunuch & leave me
with nothing but gold skin
from keawe protectors of lava lamps
& styrofoam mountains & seas
of your most beautiful vinyl.
iii.
play with me like a story told at tūtū lady’s house
but leave out where you slapped his face
so hard you mistook it for another green bottle.
keep simulating, girl. forget the ripping—
there is
nation
in
me
Donavan Kamakani Albano is a māhū Kanaka ʻŌiwi poet from Kāneʻohe, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu. He was raised in Kalihilihiolaumiha and is genealogically connected to Maui, the Philippines, and Borikén (Puerto Rico). A 2025 Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow, Albano’s work has appeared in Poetry Northwest and Pasefika Presence. He holds an M.A. in Indigenous Politics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.