The thousand pieces of a broken plate
cannot come together with Elmer’s.
Any Uncle Sam in an Aloha button-up shirt
with rolled-up sleeves to deal with humidity
and a spoon and fork as hands
can call us generous. Name us resilient.
Jolly their ways to our pigs.
Play exotic Jingle Bells
and other easy adjectives for Christmastime.
We chew white karaoke, cover band their spit
on our tongues, swallow English pop songs
before we hear them explain the fat of our bar scenes.
All these cameras they wield apprehend our dreams,
color them unknown, military base our women,
decorate our journalists in sisig.
Why drum the remote to find home.
Why not drive the knife into the accent
they baked for you.
Why not julienne the blessing with your bare hands.
You must fight to be whole, awan ti apple pie.
Janice Lobo Sapigao is a daughter of Filipina/o immigrants. Her first book of poetry about her mom, microchips for millions, critiques the Silicon Valley and its exploitation of immigrant women workers and will be published by Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA), Inc. Her second book, like a solid to a shadow, about fatherlessness, grieving, and family lineages, is also forthcoming from Timeless, Infinite Light. She is a VONA/Voices and Kundiman Fellow, and the Associate Editor of TAYO Literary Magazine. She earned her M.F.A. in Writing from CalArts, and she has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies with Honors from UC San Diego. Janice loves playing with stuffed animals, runs races occasionally, and frequents local, small mom + pop coffee shops. If you want, you can learn more at janicewrites.com.
