I am

I Am

I am a womyn who is proud of the sunshine in her roots

That rides on the rays that beam from them toward possibility

Who used to pretend positivity,

But now knows no other way to lead her life

Who lives in both joy and sorrow and who is not afraid, ashamed or tries

to hide her tears- I let them gleam and shine like my smile does.

I am Babaylan by bloodline, in my breath and the beating of my heart

I am Pinay ,

“I am Filipino-American,

not American-Filipino,

I am Filipino First”

I look back to move forward, to re-member who I am

And I love every bit of my being

I believe in the womyn that I know I will become

A sister to many, a lover to one, a mother to a blessed number unknown

I believe my art will touch hearts and souls past my lifetime

I worship the sun, she lives inside me and

reminds me that goodness is in my core

I believe that my hands were meant to create-

in this way I believe I am Goddess

And through my art I can make miracles-

I can heal, I can empower, I can envision and connect

the past, present and future, I can beautify humanity.

I want to be rich in experience,

Have wealth in an abundance of

understanding, compassion and faith.

I want to grow in my struggles,

I don’t ever want to deny the seeds of hardship

I will gather them and

plant them in my children’s backbones

so they can grow into sun-flowers of possibility-

Through their hearts to love,

through their hands to create,

and their feet to move forward.

I will because my mother and father did for me.

Because of the love they taught me

That was and is unapologetic, fierce and true.

I will bring light to the world, through all I create, all I stand for

and all the work choose to commit my life to-

For the young people who make me joyful and crazy

For the community who keeps me focused, fierce and feeling

For my family who strengthens me with their unyielding love

And for myself, because I am blessed to be me

And I will, I will, I will,

…do nothing less than shine