Tanaga: For Philippine-American Lovers
Under a mauve sky and strips
of dusk, the enduring land:
Come near. A distant sun slips
between clouds, bleeds on the sand.
Her hands reach for an iron
key or hasp to lock the door,
and then for fruit, the sweet lanzón:
once hers, now his to explore.
Their thumbs peruse the peel. Are we
being transformed? Mahal ko,
huwag: don’t ever change. The sea
starts, ends at their feet. But though
the waters roil, rise perilous—
all is well, all will be well.
She brings her lips to house his
breath. For her, he’ll yield his shell.
Notes:
Tanaga is an Indigenous Filipino poetry form. This poem appeared in our July/August 2021 issue with three other tanagas by Aileen Cassinetto, JoAnn Balingit, and Luisa A. Igloria.
Source: Poetry (July/August 2021)