remember
an affirmation from my child spirit:
remember
remember you are the moon
you loved grandmother ocean
followed her path
every night to morning’s wake
this was your ritual
on nights when ancestors
would visit your child self
they told you stories
unlocked the medicine that was hidden
in your seventh grandmother’s womb
remember
remember the pag-ong
the turtles you curiously followed
examining their curves and maps
scars along their backs
great stories turned folklore
remember
kaligay, cowries you’d pick
on windy early mornings
while the tide took their sleep
way into the ocean’s belly
rest their playful sighs
in seafoam greens and yellows
remember
the stars that dove from the sky
seeking a fantasy of love
that would be met by the sea
we called them uni
you thought they were angry
but they were just lonely
sad that the ocean ate their fire
remember
ta igid ti baybay
the sand that kissed your cheeks
into warmth
the salt on your feet
cut from playful coral reefs
the caves where you danced
fell in love with their songs
remember
remember
you are sacred
danom
aniwa’as
sabong
apoy
water
spirit
flower
fire
malagipmo?
obing nag’apo idiay bulan
remember
you are a child of the moon