BY Mirm Hurula
When someone asks me what my favorite animal is
My first response is always a whale
travelling the ocean with ease
coexisting in both water and air
what I’ve wanted since I was a child
swim in the cool, deep waters of the Pacific
some deem
the Pacific waste receptacle
bringing up a question of who is in power
who has power over water
who could have power over water
it is not those in the water but those travelling on it
The water has history it latches onto
as whales swallow it
mind-blowing ships travel through it
But at its atomic level
its more
it is three covalent bonds between
Two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen
Oxygen atoms have two valence electrons
Unstable yet, gravitating toward
what will fill its needs
Two valence electrons from hydrogen atoms
Alright that’ll do
My relationship with whales
has never been great
I don’t know how to speak whale
But I’m trying
Whales are so far away
closest I have is a lake
I didn’t see my first whale until
I was 21
But I guess that’s what you get
with diasporic whales
looking for laughter, commonality
and FOOD
gathering, filled with ‘ava, pisupo, krill, and palusami
for a moment forgetting that whales reside in
the Pacific waste receptacle
forgetting you are made up of negative atoms
looking for other negative atoms—
as an oxygen to a hydrogen
as an oxygen to an oxygen
as a whale to a whale
as an island to an island
Mirm Hurula is an emerging author and poet taking their time to slowly investigate and write in literary genres they've been interested in since they were in elementary school. In their fiction writing, Mirm tends to gravitate toward science fiction and fantasy as these are their favorite genres of scripted media. They received a fellowship for Martha's Vineyard's Institute for Creative Writing's Conference in Summer 2021. And in August of 2022, they were accepted and participated in the Anaphora's Writing Residency, now labeled as an Anaphora fellow. Mirm incorporates Brown and queer stories into every piece they work to give representation they craved as a younger avid reader. They hope that their stories can uplift and center voices that have never been a part of the mainstream.