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