“oh, to be on my island…” by Dori-Taylor Carter, Class of 2023
i was a healer in a past life.
a healer in the archipelago was a babaylan. bridge between the spirit world and ours. leader and caretaker.
spanish priests murdered her. catholicism calls for a healthy balance of self hatred, punishment, and clogged
arteries. they took her and the baybayinand the ube root and sacrificed it all to god.
i think that the bridge was burned a long time ago.
i think that there is too much radio frequency, too much air pollution, to feel my limbs anymore.
i think that there is too much doubt on television.
i think that the president is a dictator.
i think that he is complicit in thousands of murders.
he thinks he has the power to heal me.
maybe in my past life, i was the first nurse killed by richard speck in a chicago apartment.
for trying to reason with a murderer.
for trying to heal a shell of a man.
my body was made to heal.
give yourself up for the cause
about one third of all foreign born nurses in the US are from the philippines
your body is made of medicine
your body is an essential worker
your body is a resource
you are a healer in this life.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I'm Dori-Taylor Carter, a poet from Los Angeles, California. I write to explore my biracial identity, gender, and sexuality. When I'm not writing or studying, I can be found embroidering or binge-watching cartoons during quarantine.
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"Thoughts on Maultiraciality" by Thomas Moy, Class of 2021 →