Tahlequah

By Noelani Michelle

Shortlisted for the 2026 "London" Literary Prizes in the International Poetry category

Off the Oregon coast an orca mother is grieving.

Her calf remains by her side, day in
            & day out, slipping from her grip now & again
                        & the mother dives deep into the frozen below to save her.
            To save her.

She is stuck in a loop in a loop in a— 
            It has been seventeen days.
                        Seventeen days of this grief.
           Of swimming this circle.
                        Dead calf in tow.
                                     Seventeen days of this loop,
                        cycling endlessly.

Meanwhile, the world is watching.
            Holding its breath.
Watching. Waiting for the drop.
            For the calf to float
                                                   down into the deep.
            How many mothers in grief?

Meanwhile, the world is watching.

I think of my own mother,
somewhere in Oregon.

Think of how many more years
            of this silence.

            We are stuck in a loop.

                                                  What is beyond grief?

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​Noelani Michelle is a Native Hawaiian poet living and writing in the Ozarks. Her work can be found in Hawai’i Review, Arkansas International, Clementine Unbound, and more.