AGIMAT
AGIMAT by Romalyn Ante
In her powerful poetry collection Agimat, Romalyn Ante presents a deep, evocative exploration of memory, trauma, survival, and resilience, blending myth with lived experience to tell a poignant story of generational scars. The collection weaves personal and collective histories, where the metaphor of agimat—a Filipino term for a talisman or protective charm—becomes a symbol of both empowerment and burden.
The title poem, "Agimat", encapsulates the central themes of the collection. The agimat serves not just as a protective amulet but as a means of survival, passed down through generations, alongside both its protective and painful legacies. Romalyn Ante reflects on the resilience that this inherited power offers, juxtaposed with the haunting persistence of trauma. The agimat, which is meant to shield against fear and danger, fails to provide complete solace against the violent forces of the world, revealing a tension between magical thinking and the brutal truths of existence; as seen in lines like: “So my father chanted, transplanting / a spell to my blood” — where the transference of strength feels both intimate and burdensome. And yet, despite the haunting scars of the past, there is a hopeful resilience to be found in the closing lines, where the poet imagines a future where this legacy of suffering is transformed into healing.
This theme of generational trauma recurs in many of the poems within the collection, such as "Mebuyan and Me", where Filipino mythology intertwines with personal grief and loss. Mebuyan, the goddess of death and motherhood, becomes both a nurturing and unsettling figure, symbolizing the inevitable cycles of life and death, and a reminder of the complexities of memory and longing. The interplay between myth and reality imbues the poem with a sense of both comfort and eeriness, as the speaker contemplates the fragility of life and the deep-rooted impact of loss.
The imagery in "During the pandemic, I tell my lover I can no longer be a nurse, and he writes 言霊 on my arm" is another example of the Romalyn's gift for combining the intimate with the societal. Here, the weight of caregiving during the pandemic is explored through the lens of language as magic—kototama, the Japanese concept of the power of words, becomes a metaphor for survival. The exhaustion, sacrifice, and struggle to hold onto hope amidst relentless work and emotional fatigue is keenly felt in the lines, “Is it wrong – that tomorrow as the ghost / of a star dilutes in the light of dawn / this body tattered and reverberating / will still get up, / will still work.”
In poems like “Mebuyan Teases Hermes” and “Mebuyan and the Golden Boot”, Romalyn shifts toward a more defiant tone, reclaiming power and identity through the lens of Filipino mythology. Mebuyan, often associated with death and the afterlife, is transformed into a symbol of strength, endurance, and resilience, particularly in the face of hardship. These poems celebrate the strength of women, labor, and the defiance of expectations, challenging stereotypes surrounding femininity and power.
Moreover, Romalyn continues to explore the intersecting themes of war and love, as seen in “My father asks why I date a Japanese man”. This poem delves into the painful legacy of war and how love can become both a defiant act and a way to reconcile with historical trauma. The generational divide and the inheritance of anger and grief are palpable, yet so too is the fragile possibility of healing, as the narrator attempts to bridge the painful gap between memory and forgiveness.
In Agimat, the poet has crafted a world where myth and memory coexist, where healing and pain are inextricably bound. The collection is a potent exploration of the cost of survival, the weight of inherited histories, and the fragile yet unyielding hope that is passed down like a spell, offering protection, resilience, and, perhaps, a sliver of peace.
