tita ruth tells stories as if she belongs to them as if
they are alive eating tinola at the kitchen table with us
in the house apu built bare hands on bamboo slats
years ago my small weight on the slow rot now
a scar on my right leg a piece lodged inside me
another story to belong to now the rain the wet
earth after it fertile and lush i hear the sound of
the name i belong to tomorrow we say goodbye
in a month migration or according to my passport
homecoming citizenship inherited from my mother or
privilege for being born does not yet become me down by
the river rushing water sings every ghost alive do they
know me do they know i belong to them that i am
leaving them behind i wait for the swallow of time for my
mouth to recede with the tides let me exchange my stories
for silence my tongue forgets i belong to it every
language i have is borrowed when i leave i give them back
one word at a time but the accent stays
i belong to it i wear another my father’s melanin in my
skin washes away in saltwater i drink it in it belongs to me
shores shift into borders backandforth backandforth
my body a shipwreck now only water a refracted
memory another scar another story to belong to
Kaya Lattimore is a Filipinx-Australian writer and poet. As a mestiza, immigrant and queer womxn, her writing obsessions include diaspora, family histories, queer and racial identity, and language. Her poetry has appeared in Not Very Quiet, Australian Multilingual Writing Project, amberflora zine, and Djed Press. Kaya has performed her poems at various open mics and poetry slams in Nipaluna/Hobart, Ngunnawal country in Canberra, and now, Boorloo/Perth. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @kayalattimore.