One of the most important things to realize when you are an artist, or a writer, or a performer, is community. I say this because those of us who embrace the arts are often faced with adversity or lack of support. Now, this isn’t true for everyone – I personally am blessed with family and friends that support my creative vision – but for many, it can be difficult. That is why we as artists must come together to support one another within our community – and to honour that sense of community, my next review will be on the poem “Bahala Ka,” by my dear friend, Mikaela Lucido. The poem was featured in the first issue of the online literary magazine, Savant-Garde.
“I am not qualified to give you a lesson in Tagalog”; Lucido opens her poem with this line, instantly introducing the audience to her Filipino heritage and laying the foundation for what this poem is about. The duality of identifying and still not identifying with a culture resonates throughout the poem, with the tone being set from the get-go. Lucido then introduces the readers to bahala ka – a phrase she dislikes yet is exposed to constantly by her parents.
Even as I say it, the word does not belong in my mouth. It is foreign, yes, but it is also something that holds no power over me – nor can I use it to hold power over someone else. I wonder if this is what Lucido is talking about in the fourth stanza, but I realize it isn’t. The phrase is something that she can use, because she knows its worth, but the duality of existing as a hyphenated individual causes the phrase to swim around in her mouth and try to escape.
Lucido’s use of imagery paints the picture of a shoreline amidst a tumultuous storm. She is a fish that is swimming against the current yet is overwhelmed by the power of her roots. Even the use of coconut husks and the sardines illustrates a visual barrier that represents her heritage preventing from owning the phrase, bahala ka.
Ultimately, this is a poem about feeling so alien towards your true self that you become engulfed by the tides of your own thoughts. It is a poem that sings to the children of immigrants who have adopted the tongue of the colonizer, and it sings to those who feel the threads that bind them to their mothers loosen. It is a poem that wants to project those that can identify with it to the farthest reaches, but finds itself stuck, right beneath the surface of the water. It is a poem about connecting to a heritage that, regardless of feeling so distant, is still something that belongs to our very DNA.
Final Thoughts:
I am always inspired by Mikaela Lucido’s works, and I find myself wanting to connect more with my identity as a hyphenated individual every time I read them. “Bahala Ka” is a piece that is created with so much vulnerability – but at the same time, is so captivating. This is the poetry we need to see more of within Canadian publishing and literature.
Mikaela Lucido was recently featured in Broken Pencil’s CanZine 2020, with her works: “The Dark is Not a Nothing”; “dear aspiring writer”; and “a love letter to the crone.”
You can read Mikaela Lucido’s poem here: https://www.savantgarde.ca/bahala-ka
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