PISI

/‘pee-see/

1. n. part, fragment, piece: I watch her slice the peeled calabash gourd into tiny windshields. 2. v. agpisi: to cut up, divide: Bonnet-mouth fish fermenting in a glass jar, blue plastic lid browned with innards. I slip a spoonful into a mesh strainer, sieving bones from concentrate. 3. adj. kappisi: it was just cut, it was divided just now: Boiled water poured over. Bones crushed, set aside. 4: v. ipapisi: to ask someone to cut up, divide, something: Grandma asks me to slice tomatoes and onions for the stew. How small, I ask, should I cut. When you lift a bite to your mouth, how much can you fit. 5. v. ipisian: to give a share to someone: I hand over the cutting board. With the knife, she sweeps the reds and whites into the saucepan. The half-moons slide into the thick, brown foam. 6: v. pisien: to separate, to halve: She gives me the ladle, puts me in charge. Don’t fuss, you’ll soften the gourd to mush. 7: n. pisien ti bagik: my spouse, lit. my other half: Dear love, this is the world we can never share. I wish I could show you how much this stew is worth, the jars of salted bonnet-mouth, fresh calabash gourds seated on the counter. 8: n. kapisi ti puso: sweetheart, lit. a fragment of my heart: pisi of gourd, pisi of fishbone, pisi of boiling broth. 9: n. pisi ti bulan: crescent moon, lit. moon fragment: I love you to the moon and back. How far, I ask, is the moon and back. When you lift your eyes to the moon, how much light can you take in.