[Intro] (whispered, sparse) Eight fingers, eight years, eight steps to the door Chicken-coop wire, and my mother behind [Verse 1] (softly) Bleach and hair oil, rust on the mesh Inay counts eight fingers down A white hospital dress, ink at the hem A word for blood in a borrowed town [Pre-Chorus] (building) Then the round song starts, older than a name Older than Hiligaynon, older than the flame The hair on my arms stands up like heat A second heart begins to beat [Chorus] (belted, mournful) Listen for me, padaba, listen for me The spine lifts up, the seam runs pearl Half in the air and half on the cot Subject Three, a sundered girl [Verse 2] (softly) The doctor speaks Japanese to the clipboard hand He writes two columns, cold and clean The upper stops first, the lower holds three breaths Then the silence lies down in between [Bridge] (a cappella into strings) A sailor with a tin scoop, salt on her skin Salts her like a fish so she cannot come in Maria Aurelia carries me through The Iloilo dawn tastes of salt, and of you [Chorus] (full, powerful) Listen for me, padaba, listen for me Reunification failed, in pencil, block I am eight years old, I know what I have lost I do not yet know what I have been given [Outro] (whispered, fade) Seventy-nine years, I strike a match Inay, I am here. Listen for me. [End]
