Janice Sapigao
Apostrophize
Example: Father’s sacrifices
An example of this is “father’s sacrifices.” This means that the sacrifices belong to the father. This means that he has given up, offered – strategically, religiously, constantly. This means that he left and that his absence is a sacrifice. That when he sacrificed to go away, that I have sacrificed, too, because he did, because I come from him, but you don’t see that in the example. You don’t see me there. I inherited his sacrifice. I duplicate sacrifice.
An example of this is “father’s sacrifices.” This means that, without the apostrophe, one would also be saying “father is sacrifices.” The father, singular, has sacrificed many times, in the plural form. This means that more than one sacrifice has been made. That the father is an embodiment of multiple forms of sacrifice.
Contrastify
Example: But, I am John Sapigao’s daughter.
Perhaps I am the contrast. Maybe I highlight a difference – a change in pattern – in what was supposed to be here – in my family. ‘But’ is blunt. It is punctuating, and just as it conjoins sentences, it also declares a break in flow. ‘But’ serves as an interruption – the almost to a certainty – like a solid to a shadow. It is there to point out – to make lucid – what is seen yet perhaps not pointed out. ‘But’ confirms distinction, difference.
Example: But, I am John Sapigao’s daughter.
Janice Sapigao is a daughter of Filipina/o immigrants. She is the author of two books of poetry: microchips for millions (Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., 2016) and Like a Solid to a Shadow (Timeless, Infinite Light, 2017.) She is a VONA/Voices and Kundiman Fellow, and the Associate Editor of TAYO Literary Magazine. She co-founded Sunday Jump. She earned her M.F.A. in Writing from CalArts, and she has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies with Honors from UC San Diego.