—After José Garcia Villa

Electric, fans, jolt, towards,

Santo, Niño’s, bright, and, careful, eyes

Listless, fish, push, through, thick, water,

Gumballs, crack, in, quarterless, machines,

Wedges, of, honeyed, light,

Drench, an, infantry, of, SPAM, 

While, the, hopia, sits, patiently, in glass, cases,

Waiting, Place,

Iginagalaw, ang, mga, electric, fans, sa,

Mga, makinang, at, maingat, na, mata, ng, Santo, Niño,

Lumalangoy, ang, mga, matamlay, na, isda, sa, makapal, na, tubig,`

Nasisira, ang, mga, gumballs, sa, makina, na, walang, quarters,

Wedges, ng, mga, honey, na, ilaw,

Nababasa, ang, mga, hukbo, ng, mga, SPAM,

Habang, umuupo, ang, mga, hopia, nang, pasyente,

Lugar, para, maghintay 

Author’s note: Written in the “comma poem” style created by Filipino poet José Garcia Villa, these poems are excerpts from a larger project reflecting on how studying Tagalog has infused new meaning into many of the environments, objects and people that formed my experience of being Filipino-American.