“…In the beginning, the earth was plain; there were no seas, no
mountains, no hills, no valleys. Angalo, a giant whose head reached the heavens, dug into the earth with his fingers, and with the earth in his hands, he formed the mountains and the hills…”
–The Creation of the World, An Ilocano myth
choiceless, i dance:
making burning rounds
on this hill
in the highest day.
this hill, the palmful of a giant:
i trace the lines he left
with my triumphant brown feet, with
my triumphant brown hands.
come, dance with me:
the sun beats brighter with each fall i could take with you.
let us burn the air as they once burned our gods.
come, let us dance til the blood of this hill rises.
til each drop–caked into the earth, hidden in the fields–
is ours and in us again.
Marco Llanes is a 16 year old Filipino non-binary poet and dancer born and raised in Quezon City, Philippines. New to pursuing poetry as a serious artform, they explore themes of queer identity and colonization/decolonization as a Filipino and Leftist.
They can be found on Instagram: @psevdanor and on Twitter: @pseudanor