How To Be An Ally

The only things
I want from you
are your ears,
your bodies as tethers
tightly coiled and far more
stubborn than the longest
length of rope;

your beings as matches,
as sparks, as ignition—
bright and sparkling,
a multitude of torches.

What I don’t want you to be is this:
a thief—feather-light with hands
in the shadows, feet dancing back
and forth and hushed;
a conman with slick words,
dripping with sugar glaze, a sweetness
that pierces through my gums and teeth
and my heart;

an artisan buying my silence and my kindness,
only to use them as your paint, as marble, as ink,
the medium of your ‘THE HERO OF THE VOICELESS
[flesh canvas, dated 20something]’,

the masterpiece of centuries of
invisibility.

By Saquina Karla C. Guiam

Biography:

Saquina Karla C. Guiam (who goes by her nickname, Saki) is 26 years old and is studying for her MA in Davao City, Philippines. When not studying her assigned readings and writing papers, she makes time to write about many things that interest and fascinate her. She is a proud member of Flood Journal, an art and writing collective of People of Color. She is the Roots nonfiction editor of Rambutan Literary, a brand new literary magazine by Southeast Asians to showcase Southeast Asian art and literature.