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This is a piece I wrote over the summer and decided to perform it at Kasamahan’s Filipino American History Month Kick-Off. 

Celebrate FAHM with Kasamahan!

Please reblog if you can relate or find any truth in this poem.

“10”

Isa dalawa tatlo apat lima anim pito walo siyam sampu

Isa - 1
Jose Rizal once said that
“One only dies once, and if one does not die well,
a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again”

Dalawa - 2
With these two hands
I create
I communicate
isang bagsak, I clap
I cuss, I fuck
I conduct symphonies for my ex-lovers
with these two hands, I taste
kain na, let’s eat
kamayan, with our hands
we will be connected with our homeland
and swallow our culture served on banana leaves

Tatlo - 3
Geographically the Phillippines is divided into
three groups of islands:
Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon
from mount apo of mindanao
to the rice terraces built by the hands of the ifugao
call it an eighth wonder, but i wonder why people in the philippines can’t even afford to eat the rice they harvest
the rice that we consume
biggest export, not pineapples, but people
call it dirty politics if you will
cuz everyone we know is just trying to chase that dollar bill
controlled by oil, we all just tryin to get our fill
mass immigration of a nation searching for more
fleeing to foreign shores
to pursue a dream that most people spend their whole life fighting for

Apat - 4
At age 4 I fell in love for the first time
with the initials OPM
No not Oscar Mariano who used to pull my hair during our swimming lessons at the YMCA
OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music
Let me tell you about the New Minstrels, One Voice, Regine Velasquez, South Border, Martin Nivera,
and most importantly and i say this with confidence, most importantly: Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga, baby girl, if you’re listening
how is it that
you know every corner of my heart
you know how to pump every artery up my chest
your verbal surgeries of the heart and the heartbreaks that you had were mine as well,
did we share the same diary?
bakit labis kiting mahal, why do I love you so
Nandito ako, don’t you know, that you’re my heroine?
inject you in
idol and addiction you taught me how to sing and
Although your big break was playing a Vietnamese prostitute then
you and you alone made it
the 1st asian to play a typically white female lead in Les Miserable
I still get giddy every time I hear your angelic voice as Jasmine and Mulan
What can i say?
to accurately and honestly describe how you perfect perfection in every way
and to every lea salonga out there just trying to get paid
Just remember your roots and the fact that you unknowingly portray pinay everyday

Lima - 5
The number of Filipino-American celebrities I can name off the top of my head
Rob Schneider, Jokoy, Rachel Bilson, Vanessa Hudgens, Bruno Mars
I bet you didn’t know that some of them were Filipino
I guess that’s something you don’t publicize
because being a person of color in mainstream America is probably irrelevant
or is something that should be relevant
I don’t mean to rant
but I just wanted to vent
because I’m tired of watching tv
and seeing no one who could or even to represent me

Anim - 6
I have loved exactly six times in my life
man and woman, call me a queer
I embrace that label with conviction
I’m sorry if I don’t fit your fuckyeahfilipinagirl tumblr tag or description
but don’t tell me that I’m going through some lesbian until graduation phase
cuz the truth is you’re just fazed with the fact
that I might or might not love you back
return of the mack and I assure you that this woman can mack
Don’t mistake my words for flattery because they’re not
Stop assuming that I’m hitting on you cuz baby you ain’t that hot
But I can see why you’re afraid of a woman like me
Who isn’t afraid to fall for someone beyond their gender and love them physically and mentally
Who isn’t afraid to love people beyond their gender and appreciate beauty equally
I understand why you feel threatened
because love in America is almost always portrayed in one direction,
straight
but the next time you decide to judge, stereotype, or discriminate
Remember: Don’t hate the playa
but accept and respect the diversity of the game

Pito - 7
I was seven when my parents forced Roman Catholicism down my throat
I choked on the holy communion
the body of christ consumed me
but I never felt so alone in something or someone
who was supposed to be omnipresent
it’s not enough for me to say something is god’s gift or heaven sent
cuz i’ve been walkin down this path
and i don’t think his church, her church, your church
wants someone like me
Understand me
I want to find comfort in god and I envy those who do
but i refuse to believe that selective suffering is part of the prophecy
you can call me a lost lamb
but at least i’m roaming freely

Walo - 8
There are 8 rays on the Philippine sun
8 provinces who took part in a revolution and won
June 12 or July 4, the fight to end dependence is still undone
Case in point:

Siyam - 9
The practice of Simbang Gabi lasts for 9 days
December 16 to Christmas Eve,
Have we become so lost in our colonizers’ tradition?
because if you didn’t know
it was the Spanish who raped our culture and religions
objectifying our womyn
inquisition with precision
they managed to convert a barbaric country into real civilians
but last time i checked the government was still killing innocent civilians

Sampu - 10
Shit, my parents never taught me to count pass ten
You see back then
teaching tagalog wasn’t a part of their parental agenda
at least from my perspective
the art of being filipino was ignored and neglected
slowly fading like pages of an open book sitting under the blazing sun unprotected
You see even at this school, they tell us our that people’s history is not core, only elective
fuck that cultural diversity bullshit, i refuse to feel inferior to your curriculum
my mind and my heart will stand strong
even as you attempt to change my world from here
so keep your pity credits, don’t sweat it
cuz i won’t let it, prevent me from showing you our potential like we did that mothafucka magellan,
call us felons, violent or not,
we’re taking back what is rightfully ours tenfold times eleven
So put your fists up high if you feel my vibe
let the world know that people power is still alive
I said once before
and I’ll say it with more pride
Put your fists up high if you feel my vibe
let USF know that people power is still alive
and it thrives
in each of your beautiful minds
so don’t compromise
instead decolonize your every thought
because your quest for knowledge is so worth it and their ignorance is not
and just in case you forgot
carlos bulosan
america will always be in your heart
real talk, my brothers and sisters and everyone in between
we need to start
exploring a part of ourselves
that has been kept away for too long in the dark
I challenge everyone in this room to
make your move, make your mark
we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves
stop being afraid to use our voices and our heads
to rewrite history so we can tell our own stories
educate our own children, teach them things that those textbooks cannot
so all I ask of you is to leave the doubt that our colonizers brought about
and learn to count past 10