“Woman Warriors: Babae/Babaylan” by Aimee Suzara
Babae = girl or woman
Babaylan = a shaman of ancient times who is usually two-spirited
Dalaga = a young woman
Diwata = a spirit of nature and the trees.
Babae Babaylan Dalaga Diwata
Women are the healers mothers sisters and daughters
Lorde Angelou Kingston and Assata
Words to nourish nations like mecca and water
Babae Babaylan Dalaga Diwata
Women are the healers mothers sisters and daughters
Lorde Angelou Kingston and Assata
Words to nourish nations like mecca and water
Listen to the voices you can hear the wisdom burning
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
Babae Babaylan Dalaga Diwata
I often wonder bout the state of the nation
Why we don’t spend every moment in celebration
Of our mothers and our grandmothers too
They the ones who raise us up and carry us through our
Struggles and often with no reward
Living and feeling all kinds of wars
But do much of this in the details
When I turn on the tv all I see is
White man ruling or women objectified
It’s time to rewrite the canon of life…
Makes me wanna flip the script and revise
So this world will wake up and realize that
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
Babae babaylan dalaga diwata
Women are the healers mothers sisters and daughters
Lorde Angelou Kingston and Assata
Words to nourish nations like mecca and water
Listen to the voices you can hear the wisdom burning
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
Babae babaylan dalaga diwata
Women are the healers mothers sisters and daughters
Lorde Angelou Hong Kingston Assata
Words to nourish nations like mecca and water
Listen to the voices you can hear the wisdom burning
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
I often worry bout the state of our nation
Every day policemen killing our black brothers
And sisters dying behind metal bars
Angels who fall to system’s race wars
Raising our fists we say Black Lives Matter
Women lead the movement say Black Lives Matter
We fight with stories we stand in solidarity
We use our voices and break down apathy
It’s time to rewrite the canon of life…
So this world will wake up and realize that
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
The women warriors are walking in our midst
Babae babaylan dalaga diwata
Women are the healers mothers sisters and daughters
Lorde Angelou Hong Kingston Assata
Words to nourish nations like mecca and water
Listen to the voices you can hear the wisdom burning
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
Alighting minds and hearts to the revolution churning…
Babae babaylan dalaga diwata
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Aimee Suzara Artist Statement:
Aimee Suzara is a Filipino-American poet, playwright, and performer whose mission is to create poetic and theatrical work about race, gender, and the body to provoke dialogue and social change. Based in Oakland, Suzara has graced stages nationally, from Florida to Washington. Her debut poetry book, SOUVENIR (WordTech Editions 2014) was lauded as “a powerful meditation on history and the legacies of race, family and identity,” (David Mura), and her poems appear in numerous collections, including Phat’itude and Kartika Review. Her performance work has been supported by YBCAway Award, National Endowment for the Arts, East Bay Community Foundation commission; selected for the One Minute Play Festival, Playground, APAture, and Utah Arts Festival; and staged at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, CounterPULSE, and others. Author Luis J Rodriguez has said, “Aimee Suzara is a deep chronicler of our hopes, dreams, pains, and future. We need these poems more than ever.” www.aimeesuzara.net Spirited Woman Foundation Fellow, Studio Hour Leader, Consultant, Waves Discussion Series Contributor
