K A M A Y A N

By | 15 May 2023

( i.)

we eat with our h a n d s

ba na na leaf plate sp a nn ing

a table or two

how many h ands can we count covers

tropical banana (.) savannah of g lo s s y c h l o r o ph y l l,

ele phant -ic l eaves



lai d d own under:

ric e

pan- cit bi- hon

ini haw

lechon

think: ( red skin , crackling WHOLEroasted pig

“pinch the belly where lemon grass
& gar lic
Are.” )





in the city, we

think of: the word bu- kid

and smell(:) lush plant scent from

machete / i- t ak

cutting down banana hearts not exactly

bananas yet

( purple red )

still in parenthesis

br. eaK it open

see seedlings like dotted i s

o r


revert time t o let it grow

: saba

type of banana cultivar

boil it whole inside its peel t i l l charred brown and black

warm on hand

let

p(e)tals of brown black peel splay o u t

like: its canopy

as wings droop down to reveal

sweet. gelatinous. taste.





( ii.)

there are grains of rice on

the sides of my fingers

i lick it or kiss the skin to leave none wasted

it is salty from oils

sauces

mothers always say:

“every grain is a drop of sweat off a farmer’s head”

suffered abundance

in tropical humidity
my cousin’s head sweats as he slurps warm soup

my mother cleans h-
er fish bones like a cat’s tongue

colonized country taught to eat with
u ten sils

( although

spoonfuls of rice

remain more popular than forkfuls )

; hands understand

H O M E is in the texture of rice

spread out until

the. warm. steam r is es

which fingers then touch their tips for in

reconciling motion

—soft grains compact

in mouth.

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