its so yummy to find time to write again. i'm minimally workshopping the poems. i guess for me they've been a part of excavating my creative process...this one is fresh and probably not done. i think i would like it to be the narrative for an animation piece.
("dilaw" is yellow in tagalog and "puti" is white)
dilaw. puti. dilaw. puti.
i cough color
staining baby cheeks
wrists, fingernails
feet
dilaw. puti. dilaw. puti.
hands slapping
morena, mistiza,
dilaw. puti. dilaw. puti.
i raise a hand
in protest
my soul is not reflected
in my color --it lays
between sinews
saving voices
laying dormant
dilaw. puti. dilaw. puti.
until such a time
as spirit erupts
irrepressible and pure
like rage in a forest.
image: From the series "Saving Face" by M. Mangahas, 2006, Philippine cocoa, paraffin, chili
