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i have long cast a shadow over grief
allowed you to shatter boughs
allowed your wails and blows
to bore into the trunk of me
& hollow out a home

each spring
the sparrows nest and sing
& you climb

reaching for tender branches
while the sparrows take flight
their fluttering wings mimicking the
harrowing of my heart

& each fall
your nails rat-a-tat
against my skin
carving lost names here & there
& there



Jordan Kurella is a trans and disabled author who has lived all over the world (including Moscow and Manhattan). In his past lives, he was a photographer, radio DJ, and social worker. He can be found on Twitter @kurellian, or at JordanKurella.com. His forthcoming novella, I Never Liked You Anyway, is due out in the fall from Vernacular Books.
Current Issue
9 Feb 2026

“I’ve never actually visited the pā before,” she said out loud. “Is this where they gather lāʻī to make the pūʻolo?” she asked. “Yes,” Benny responded, glancing to see where Nanea was pointing. “Here and in other places as well. Many of these ti have been growing for decades now.” She paused for a moment. “I think about all the work you guys do, you know, up in those offices, and I think that all of that work actually starts from right here, in the ground, all covered in the earth and the pōhaku and the ti. Most people don’t even know it, but it all starts right here.
sometime in the night, we heard rocking and knocking and rapping and tapping, a million trillion tiny feet
The triangles bred and twisted, replicating themselves.
Issue 2 Feb 2026
By: Natasha King
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
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