One Poem by Zach Keali’i Murphy

 

Faults

 

You were born into chaos

before it became your shadow.

 

You learned that your first heartbreak didn’t unequivocally break you,

it just prepared you for the future.

 

You wondered why the stars preferred not to be seen,

then you understood them for retreating behind the shroud.

 

You longed as your dreams danced in the distance,

only to taunt you in your sleep.

 

You witnessed things burn because there was no other way.

You witnessed things burn because there should have been another way.

 

You felt your soul splash, sink, and swirl,

like a tear that gets lost in a storm.

 

And still,

the mountains patiently breathed.

Zach Keali’i Murphy is a Hawaii-born writer with a background in cinema. His stories appear in Reed Magazine, Maudlin House, The Coachella Review, Raritan Quarterly, Another Chicago Magazine, Still Point Arts Quarterly, and more. He has published the chapbooks Tiny Universes (Selcouth Station Press) and If We Keep Moving (Ghost City Press). He lives with his wonderful wife, Kelly, in St. Paul, Minnesota.