Broken Origin Story about the Philippines

In the beginning, there was endless sky and endless ocean
Then there came land, the accidental gift of an angry god
There lived the now nameless people, the only beloved of this furious host
Sending prayers into the silent, unwilling mouth of their creator

This story could belong to many people, but instead it is mistranslated by my blood
In the beginning, there was bound sky and bound ocean
Carried to land of marble tongues, ears sewn shut to the song of the endless ocean
Here the beloved now became nameless, the only gift of this silent host

I am a child of the wrong ocean, my name sits on marble tongues like wrath
This story could belong to endless people, but instead it is bound by my blood
In the end, I am only a woman who is trying to find her way back to fire
Carried to land of marble tongues, ears bound shut to the song of the endless ocean

And here the sky is cotton, no thunder, or lighting, only silence from a new god
I am a child of the endless ocean, my name sits on wildfire tongues like courage
I carry songs of waves in my blood, in a language I cannot speak
In the end, I am only a woman who is trying to find her way back to love

We have always been the people who
we love enough to carry in song
In the end, this story that was once only mine
is now also yours.
Is an accidental gift from a broken tongue
from endless beginnings.

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Irene Velarde lives and writes in California. She is interested in medicine and art as paths to healing, and in healing as a form of empowerment. She likes the beach at night, overpriced coffee, and people who read author bios.