“House Dolls” by Salud Mora Corriedo
housework was everything
in the world of nena’s dolls
until one day
came a visitor who talked
of dolls
stitching wounds
baking highways
cooking up bills and rules
and dishing out
their revolutions
since then nena’s dolls
have been restless—
asking questions on
what’s been going on
beyond their fence
today
nena dresses up the dolls
in shirts and pants
and sends them
out of the house
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Salud Mora Carriedo’s Artist Statement: SALUD MORA CARRIEDO was born and raised in Davao, Philippines. Her travels and schooling abroad have been instrumental in her journey back to her Visayan roots. During her stay in foreign lands, she observed how non-English natives take pride in their own languages and in the richness of their literatures.
Discovering that most of the great literary pieces she adores were originally written in languages other than English became a turning point for Salud. She now writes mostly in Bisaya, her mother tongue, and self-translates into English and Filipino. This way, her Visayan people and the world can have access to her writings.
