Kundiman, and: A Poem

Abstract: Kundiman: This poem interrogates poetry's role amid material crisis through the lens of the speaker's working-class roots, moving from questioning art's value to celebrating labor solidarity and material action on the ground. A Poem: This poem explores the tension between transformation and belonging as the speaker confronts a realization that claiming one's medicine means separation from the tribe. The poem traces a journey of oceanic self-becoming.