I've had this on my to-read list for a while, and now that I have access to a university library again I'm starting to make some headway on that list. During my last university residency, in 2023, the uni in question didn't have this book so I was super pleased to find that Otago did! 

It's a very interesting linguistic mix. The first collection of poetry published in English by a Pohnpeian poet, it still includes a lot of the Pohnpeian language - and over 70 footnotes explaining various terms. This was useful; I want to read more poetry that mashes up language like this but given my own inability to speak anything other than English and some very poor French my options are limited. Books like this increase accessibility and I'm glad to have them.

A lot of the poetry here is related to displacement and colonialism, with stories of Micronesians going to work in other countries or waging war for other countries or losing elements of their own culture - the "Urohs" of the titles is a traditional Pohnpeian skirt worn by women - or reclaiming it. One of the poems, "She Needs an Urohs", for example, is about buying one of the skirts for a young relative who prefers more modern clothes. There's a sense of homecoming and appreciation here that I liked very much, with sporadic entertaining asides. 

I'll have to check the library and see if Kihleng has written any other books. I'd like to read them.