Now that I’m learning Chamoru, one thing I love to do is write little stories. Earlier this year I read some English translations of work by Misuzu Kaneko, a Japanese writer of children’s poetry. Her poems charmed me with their deep empathy for the world around her, whether it was the man selling flowers or the road buried under the snow. To write my own stories, I pull inspiration both from her poetry and my memories of my grandmother. This is the first story I attempted, about the sand and the ocean.

I inai yan i tasi

I maipe na unai ha faisen i atdåo,
“Kao siña un li’e’ i puengi?
Mahålang yu’ as homhom na langet!”

I inai ha na’chalek i atdåo:
“Åhe’! Tåya’ puengi gi ha’åni!”
Ya bumaila i atdåo gi langet.

Tåya’ ma’åse!
Tumånges i inai.
“Kimådu yu’
gi ma’lak na somnak.”

I tasi ha hungok i inigong-ña:
“Bai hu ayuda hao, atungo’-hu.”
Ya i tasi ha toktok i inai.