NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

"Glass Kiss"   I can taste the ocean between us As I step towards you, it wades against me, salt stinging to my skin Your eyes are set, chained to the horizon Reminding me that I find it hard to breathe when you are not looking at me You are whispering something But it is lost in the wind, as if drowned quietly in the spiral corridors of a seashell As you turn and see my approach The ocean sighs, waters parting, revealing the heart of the world As I pull you to me, I gasp, as if searching for the land’s last breath When our lips meet, the ocean pours into the earth’s core Cooling every heat filled moment I have shared with you The sky trembles, lightning piercing all And you are forever mine in a sea of newborn glass

"Blue" I’m trying to find something she left, A kiss that has long been taped to my mind It was left there long ago, by someone who had no business inside my skull But found her way there, during a sweaty afternoon, complete with grass stains and sword cuts that stretched like clues on puzzle pieces from her limbs to mine At one point that kiss was an itch, a scar carved upon my memories, that blocked the flow of daily traffic, always taking my thoughts through detours towards that afternoon, when without a moment’s notice, she planted that kiss upon my life I would spend days taping, rock hammer rapping at the side of my skull, splintering bone and feeding air to that starving scar. Desperate to keep it alive, to force feed nourishment into the scar, to keep it crisp, to keep it breathing, humming, dancing between life and death.  But I simply write around that kiss. As I reach into my skull, digging for that scarred memory, as my own irritated bone tears into my finger fles

Throughout the year, Independent Guåhan organizes "Håle'-ta Hikes," aimed at bringing the community into the island's historic and culturally sacred sites, in hopes of helping them understand the need to protect them. The last hike happened earlier this year to Litekyan. We had a huge crowd of people show up. Here are some of my pictures from the day. Gefpågo na ha'åni, esta gof annok gi litråtu siha.  *************************************

It is once again November and that means it is time for  NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, or as I prefer to call it  # ChaNoWriMo  or Chamoru Novel Writing Month. For those brave enough to try their typing or writing hands at NaNoWriMo, the challenge is to write 50,000 words of your prospective novel by the end of the month. 30 days for 50,000 words.  I've been doing this for several years now writing a number of different stories and novels, some of  which have made their way into the many things I've published through The Guam Bus. Most of these November novels have been focused on my alternate history for Guam referred to as "The Legend of the Chamurai." In it, there were pre-Spanish contacts between the Japanese and Chamorus and in the early 17th century, a group of samurai assist the Chamorus in fighting off the Spanish. In these stories, I've tried to give life to a number of legendary figures such as Chaife, Fu'una and Puntan, Ukudu and othe

The past few days have been quite hectic due to the threat to Guam by North Korea and President Trump's shocking response. I am trying to catch up on my posts on this blog, and so we'll see if I'll be able this month. Here are a few articles on the initial threat from North Korea to Guam.  ******************* North Korea Claims It’s Planning to Fire Missiles Near Guam 8/10/17 SEOUL/GUAM (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it was completing plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam in an unusually detailed threat that further heightened tensions with the United States. North Korea’s army will complete the plans in mid-August, when they will be ready for leader Kim Jong Un’s order, state-run KCNA news agency reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army. The plans called for the missiles to land in the sea

When the US Department of Defense released their Draft Environmental Impact Statement for their proposed military buildup to Guam, you could see both the potential danger involved and the community's reaction in simple numbers. The size of the DEIS in terms of page numbers was close to unbelievable. At 11,000 or so pages, you could not help but wonder about the potential impacts the plans would represent to Guam. If it took 11,000 pages to describe it and discuss it, how could it be good? Shouldn't the massive volume of pages required to articulate it be a sign of danger? The community responded with more than 10,000 comments, many of which were critical of the buildup. A significant response, close to one for each page of that infernal document. When I recall that a JGPO representative said to me that they were anticipating just "500 on the high side" I feel that through a variety of activists means, people began to question the buildup and how much it might bene

I collect Guam mentions from national and international media and this one has to be one of the more interesting ones I came across this year. ******************* How Guam Stole Christmas by Kimberly Robinson http://www.bna.com/guam-stole-christmas-b57982065502/ December 23, 2015 Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot ... But the Guam officials sued in this Ninth Circuit case , did NOT! On (the eve of) Christmas Eve, they asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and revive their expedited tax refund process that was struck down by the Ninth Circuit in the summer season. Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that their heads aren’t screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that their shoes are too tight. But some think that the most likely reason of all … is that the officials wanted to keep expediting their own refunds while making the majority of Guamanians wait months or even years for their

Last week I met with Yoko Ito, a resident of Otsuchi. She lost family members, her house and her coffee shop in the March 11, 2011 disaster. She herself was fortunate as she was visiting her mother at the time the tidal wave smashed into her town. She returned hours later via icy backroads to witness the destruction the wave had brought. She took pictures of what she saw and later combined them with images of Otsuchi before the catastrophe to create a photo book to document the tragedy of 3/11 in her town. With the Popoki Peace Project I spent the morning with Ito-san, driving around Kamaishi and Otsuchi looking for signs of that disaster. Even four years later, we found them everywhere. Marks that indicated the highest point of the tsunami wave on buildings. Even signs inside of buildings that remind those who see them that the water level reached this point within the building before it receded. Even the lack of signs, were themselves landscapes of haunting beacons. The absence o

Maolek na mensahi para pa'go na ha'ani.

Gefpago i tano'-ta yan i tasi-ta giya Guahan. Mansuette hit ni' manasaga' guini. I taotao sanhiyong sina mangguife put este na klasin langhet. Lao i taotao guini, sina ma li'e' este na langhet kada diha. Taiprisu este.

Lumiliko' yu' gi i "Leeward" na banda gi i ma'pos na simana giya Oahu. Un atungo'-hu, malago' gui' fuma'nu'i yu' hafa ha fa'na'a'an i magahet na Hawai'i, ya pues in hami humanao. Ti hu gof tungo' ayu na banda. Estaba managa' ham giya Kunia, anai Si tata-hu macho'cho'cho' gi Del Monte gi fama'yan pina siha. Hu gof tungo' iya Manoa yan iya Honolulu, put i Unibetsedat yan i malls siha guihi. Lao unu pat dos biahi ha' di hu bisita i Leeward na banda. Gi minagahet sen gefpago este na islan Oahu. Lao para Guahu mas hu ripara i chinatpago, put hemplo i mantaiguma', i tahdong na fina'militat, ya taimanu na masasakke' ha' kada diha i tano'-niha i mannatibu na Hawaiian siha. Put este siha mas na'triste este na lugat. Ti ya-hu bumisitanaihon. Ai adai, i pumasehun-mami nigap, ha na'gasgas i ante-ku. Ginen sanlagu yu', ya hunggan gof gaiprobechu i bida-hu guihi p

Gaige yu' gi Tumblr . I am on Tumblr. Ti ya-hu mureblog. I do not like to reblog. Hu rikokohi gi iyo-ku Tumblr, i fina'tinas-hu I am collecting in my Tumblr, things I have made. I ltratu-hu siha ginen i isla-ku. My pictures of my island. I litratu-hu siha ginen i hinanao-hu siha My pictures of my trips. Infotmasion put i che'cho'-hu gi koleho yan gi kuminidat. Information about my work at UOG yan in the community. Parehu i ison-niha yan este na blog, lao mas ha aguiguiguiya i fina'litratuh siha iyo-ku Tumblr. My tumblr and my blog have the same purpose, lao my Tumblr is primarily for visuals. Ti meggai iyo-ku followers (dadadalaki siha). I don't have that many followers. Lao kada biahi na umafakcha'i ham yan un follower, nina'gof magof yu'. But each time I meet a new follower, it makes me very happy. Ti pinacha' i korason-hu anai ma sangani yu' na ma li'e' yu' gi PDN. It doesn't do much

I haven't posted for the past few days because I've been so busy with my trip to Okinawa. Here is the symposium that I participated in yesterday. I'll be writing much more about it later, but for now I need to pack and head back to Guam.

Mensahi Ginnen I Gehilo’ #5 "Not Just for Protestors" The Independence Task Force for Guam has been meeting for several months now and we finally held our first event in July. Days after Liberation Day supporters for Independence as Guam’s next political status gathered early in the morning to pick up trash along the beach and road in Hagatna. Twenty-two volunteers showed up to collect beer cans, cigarette butts, tires, newspaper and all other types of trash. All in all more than a dozen bags were collected. The Mayor’s Office of Hagatna was generous enough to dispose of the trash once the cleanup was over. Jon Guerrero, a recent graduate of the Masters in Clinical Psychology program at the University of Guam was the lead organizer for the event. Guerrero felt it was important to take on an activity like this because people think of Independence as being very abstract, but in truth its really about feeling like you can take care of yourself.

Cleaning Up for an Independent Guam Guam’s Independence Task Force to Clean West Hagåtña Beaches Sat. The Independence Task Force Committee and the Hagåtña Mayor’s Office are working together to clean the beaches along the Liberation Day parade route this Saturday morning. The cleanup will begin at 6 a.m. at the beach across from the GCIC building. It is one of the first community events the recently revived Independence Task Force has organized, and it reflects an important goal of the group – to work toward a sustainable future for Guam. “Our group is concerned about the well-being of our community,” says Jon Guerrero, who organized the cleanup. “This beach cleanup will not only help beautify our community, but it will also be a great opportunity to learn more about our right to self-determination, and to learn what independence for Guahan would look like for our community.”   The Independence Task Force is inviting members of the community to join them in the clea