Mirror Story
Sāmoa is a place, in case you are wondering.
It is a chain of islands broken in two
Sliced down the middle
From head to pelvis.
Sāmoa’s right side of the body
Was Germany’s favorite place
To call home.
Samoa’s left side of the body
Was a US military’s wet dream
And still is.
Matriarchy raised Sāmoa
And yet the missionaries came anyways.
Gave Sāmoa a God anyways.
Sāmoa is a gracious body
Even after the auctioning off
Of its limbs,
Even after every visitor
Came in uninvited
Ready for the carving.
Sāmoa used to belong to itself
But doesn’t anymore.
I know the feeling.
I used to belong to myself
But don’t anymore.
I am a gracious body.
Even after every visitor
Came in uninvited
Ready for the carving.
Even after the auctioning off
Of my breasts
My thighs
My voice.
My mother raised me
And yet patriarchy came anyways.
Put a target on my back anyways.
The left side of my body
Was a trauma center
And still is.
The right side of my body
Is a rape kit’s favorite place
To call home.
From head to pelvis.
Sliced down the middle.
I am a chain of islands broken in two.
I am a place, in case you are wondering.
Biography
Terisa Tinei Siagatonu is a 1st/2nd generation spoken word artist and arts educator born and rooted in the Bay Area. Her emergence into the spoken word world as a queer Samoan womyn and activist has granted her opportunities to perform on stages ranging from San Francisco’s historical Herbst Theatre to the White House. The most memorable moment in her career was receiving President Obama’s Champion of Change Award for her activism as a Pacific Islander spoken word artist and arts activist in her community. Off stage, she is a first-year graduate student working toward her master’s degree in Marriage/Family Therapy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
