Published in Overland Issue 219 Winter 2015 · Uncategorized Hiding Kiri Piahana-Wong I am a girl with nothing to hide My head is stuffed full of you But my phone is empty I shudder, I nearly fall I compose messages that I do not send Over and over My hand hovers You are here: I can smell the scent you wear, I can taste you on the inside of my mouth, your fingers run down the inside of my arm: you are here. You are not here. I am proud of my strength, and I weep for it. I am a girl who is hiding nothing. Kiri Piahana-Wong Kiri Piahana-Wong is a New Zealander of Māori (Ngāti Ranginui), Chinese and Pākehā (English) ancestry. She is a poet and editor, and publisher at Anahera Press (www.anahera.co.nz).Her first poetry collection, Night Swimming, was published in 2013. More by Kiri Piahana-Wong › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 24 April 202624 April 2026 · Friday Poetry A slam dunk publication Michael Farrell Australians said, landed among manatees, did useful, / neatnesses, knitted, pleasingly. Spared liaisons, amassed, / mortal dangers, unforeseen, nor kids, prayed aloud. 1 23 April 202623 April 2026 · The media The importance of democratic frequencies: on the threatened closure of 2SER Daz Chandler 2SER operates not just as a broadcaster, but as an incubator of democratic culture, its alumni carrying forward practices shaped by collaboration, dissent and accountability to community.
