My Mother Said

Jakarta Spoken Word

My spoken word is below.

In 2023, Jakarta has a vibrant spoken word scene, largely thanks to SafeSpace Indonesia1. Founded by Lulu Qonita and Andra Jatikusumo, SafeSpace Indonesia provides a platform for poetry enthusiasts to express themselves without fear of judgment1. They held their first open mic event for poetry lovers on Dec. 10, 2022, at Galeri Salihata, South Jakarta1.

Since I am embracing spoken word in my late 60s, I chose Jakarta spoken word as a poetry format. This gives me lots of room to move freely, As it sounds like free verse is most common.

And as a grandson told me, "Grandma, no one wants to hear you go on and on for more than a few minutes." Well, it might be 2.5 minutes.

"My Mother Said":

My mother said she was abused when growing up on the rez.

This was the explanation for not ever living there, she says.

So, we were all abused off the rez, by others, including priests and nuns.

~

We lived in the most racist place, I have ever lived. It was a destination

she moved us to after my dad died, close to a reservation.

I have fond memories of the year we lived on the reservation, I was five.

I had my tonsils out there and still only positive memories, I do not jive.

~

The logic doesn't fit. I chose good touch, bad touch for my little ones.

My son said all that he knew to get out of going one day.

It was more than I knew and so he was on his way.

~

His sister had an experience that she didn't remember right away.

It took several years to recall what happened on that Friday in May.

She was eating fruit loops that turned the milk colors, and she ran

out the door and hollered. I chased her down and she told what she can

remember. It all made sense as she was very sensitive about weight gains

and the pain in her hips, which bothered her, I labeled as growing pains.

~

He had her on his lap, and as he moved her around and said sit still

she remembered him saying she was fat. She was getting ill.

It doesn't matter what we do to protect our children, it can

happen right in front of the babysitter. The man

I never met or knew. The man who abused my daughter

~

It is probably a good thing that her father

didn't know at the time or he may have spent time for a crime.

Sometimes our body takes care of us, like hers did for her that time.

~

My mother never told me anymore but that she was abused

I don't wish to do anything more, I hope to not be bruised

no more or for our children and grandchildren to not be used

in that way no more. I know some have. I know others will be.

~

I work for healing to happen to all the people that have hurt me

and mine. I pray for forgiveness and kindness and to understand

that sometimes it can't be helped, so I will do what I can to take a stand.

~

As I understand that hurt people, hurt people. Please do your best

to get the help you need for trauma, grief and loss. I try to not be a pest

and I do not jest, take time to care for yourself and all of the rest.

~

We never know where our healing will go.

Impacting many of those we know.

~

There are many poetry formats that start with the letter ‘J’, but they are not as common or well-known as other forms. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a specific format starting with ‘J’ in my current knowledge base. However, you can explore various poetry forms and perhaps discover a ‘J’ form on your own12. You can also create your own poetry format starting with ‘J’! For example, a “Jubilee” format where every line celebrates something, or a “Jigsaw” format where every stanza is a piece of a larger picture. The possibilities are endless when it comes to poetry! 😊 Bing