Tanaga: What Hailed Us & What We Made
Wasn’t it
that two, divided
heard the other
the wood *—
that two, divided
heard the other
the wood *—
through poetry
by language,
calling through
Isn’t that the dream
by language,
calling through
Isn’t that the dream
we might all sustain
and on other shores?
into our
carved, oxbowed
and on other shores?
into our
carved, oxbowed
both here
They came
high northern hills—
roads winding from
They came
high northern hills—
roads winding from
the humid plains:
mapmaker
their own idea of
So listen, at
mapmaker
their own idea of
So listen, at
foot soldier,
pining too for
home—
each juncture,
pining too for
home—
each juncture,
for the ancestors
announce
less, they
in boats lighter than the
announce
less, they
in boats lighter than the
when they
their presence: border-
cross the sea as if
gauze
their presence: border-
cross the sea as if
gauze
strips wound about them
Wherever we are
the worlds of
At ocean’s edge
Wherever we are
the worlds of
At ocean’s edge
like smoke.
we bless
our first naming.
we gather
we bless
our first naming.
we gather
salt and water,
Shore after shore,
that hailed us. That
extended, unmade,
Shore after shore,
that hailed us. That
extended, unmade,
residue.
histories
our bodies
remade.
histories
our bodies
remade.
Notes:
*The 126th stanza of Francisco Balagtas’s “Florante at Laura” describes the moment when the Prince Aladin hears the cries of Prinsipe Florante in the forest. The two men, from different kingdom-nations, surprisingly understand each other in monorhyming Tagalog quatrains: “Sa tinaghoy-taghóy na casindac-sindác,/guerrero,i, hindî na napiguil ang habág,/tinuntón ang voses at siyang hinanap,/patalim ang siyang nagbucás n~g landás" (text from “Florante at Laura” on the Project Gutenberg site)
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 Sofia M. Starnes.
Source: Poetry (July/August 2021)