So,
As much as I wanted to hideaway
I could not sit on the sidelines and not
Comment on the work of a fellow artist
Who I haven’t yet met
But hope to connect with soon
On this rainy Sunday
In beautiful Christian Samoa
I have been called blasphemous
An abomination
Such stupidity!
Cringeworthy!
Offensive!
Etc. etc. etcetera!
These were words that were thrown
At me today
Labels that used to terrify me
At one time
But surprisingly
As I dance the faataupati with these mosquitos
(I don’t believe in mosquito coils
and my mosquito net is being washed)
I realize that this is why we do
What we do
Not to be liked
Not to be anyone’s darling
Or doormat for that matter
But
To provoke thought
To engage in constructive criticism
To nurture the exchange of knowledge
And in the process
Examine ourselves
And what we stand for
And today,
I stand for someone else’s right to express themselves
I thank Kitiona Simei
For his courage
That has awoken the Vanimonimo
The Owl
And Jesus in me
Manuia!
~sia
