I Am River Poem by Ofero Basbas

who are you? i asked. river. it was all i heard.
your true name? i persisted. river, she repeated;
then she was quiet, as if there was something
i just didn’t get; she did not need to explain.

who are you? i was desperate. where do you come from?
have you not seen me step down from where the sun rises?
she whispered, from silver pools and springs on isarog, blue rock
hunched down on the great plains, watching as men build their cities;

i run down the giant’s shoulders, through rocky slopes
among ferns and ancient trees felled by hand and wind
through unbroken trails, coconut groves and streams.
between a smirk and a grin, she had to add: i was once a virgin.

i let that one slide; too green, i thought, and switched:
you drag your tail through the earth; are you dragon or serpent?
oriol of legend, seducing dreamers; sorceress carving the land
to any whim; a woman with a score to settle – shouldn’t i be afraid?

what is your true name? i asked once again. it must be something
grand, awe-inspiring, fearsome. she looked at me, eyes burning.
it is men i am afraid of, she said. i raised a village, a royal city,
a hub for the region; i am river. i am mother. like the virgin

the woman you carry on your shoulders each september;
one who suffered, and gave birth so others are cleansed and live.
enchantress or seducer, but no more a danger than those
who forget who i am, who forget where they came from:
i am river. i need no other name

i am lover. i am mother. i am river!