Pāhonoa te oro

For a second, I thought — maybe he would stop Maybe he would turn it into a joke Maybe I wish you were never born The words didn’t echo They didn’t need to They landed exactly where they were meant to On me And for a moment everything slowed down No one laughed No one reacted My stepmother gave a …

For a second, I thought — maybe he would stop Maybe he would turn it into a joke Maybe I wish you were never born The words didn’t echo They didn’t need to They landed exactly where they were meant to On me And for a moment everything slowed down No one laughed No one reacted My stepmother gave a small nod like she agreed My sister lifted her phone and started recording Recording Like this was something worth saving I looked around the table Forty people Forty witnesses