answer
By Eunice Andrada
during the crescendo of the blaze
the sky is a memory of water
elsewhere a country of rain
where water visits without
invitation
its deluge of questions
flowing back to the sea
after finding no one
who would listen
you hear the rain
before you see it
scatter the ashes
of eucalyptus trees
downstream
and drum a pulse
back into the earth
it covers every gleaming
surface with its frequency
until water is all we hear
night upon night
the storm batters
the ground in demand
the words for rain
return to me
dabu-dabu talithi
bunok wisik
tagasak ilig
tubod
prayers from the banwa
float up to the grey
asking
asking
each prayer pulling us closer
to the shore until we learn
to speak water
again
from our dry-throated landscape
we emerge from hiding
to finally face
its questions
Hiligaynon Glossary:
dabu-dabu, talithi – light rain
bunok – heavy rain
wisik – shower
tagasak - downpour
tubod – rainflow
ilig - trickling of rain
banwa – town