Wings of angels slice through darkness, and the sun rises again on a world torn. And lines in the sand vanish, and the tide of war grows red. But we are still here. They take us in their arms, their life for ours, and battle keeps them from home. But as the sun sets, we look to the skies, seeing […]
Read more
D-Dream When I was a dream child, I dreamed of all that was dreamable, including a remarkable ancestor in particular, whom I wished to have so that I could brag about to my playmates. However, as I grew older, I learned that my grandfather had left us nothing but an obscure family name, while my father was no more […]
Read more
My Awkuzu Mistake Maybe it’d been a perfect end That time we shared at Awkuzu On crumpled cotton bedsheets— Testimony of what we called love Or maybe we should’ve just ended it That infamous night in February You confessed I was not the only one And yet you called it love That was not the only lie […]
Read more
Crystal Blue The rain pounded the pavement as if it were furious over the lonely hearts that hid in their rooms with nobody to wipe away their tears or make them smile, but the rain did share their pain and splattered kisses upon windows of their homes to console them because the rain could see the love they hid […]
Read more
TONIGHT’S EARLY MORNING I open my window in the middle of tonight’s Early morning after the nightly thunderstorms To hear the cry of a lone bird flying through the fog And looking for a place safe and dry, his wings Weighted down with water and sleepiness The way I am weighted down with the memories Of her laughter […]
Read more
I sat on the park bench watching my niece as she guarded her 4 year old son who clambered like a monkey over the jungle gym. Happy shouts and laughter filled the air and I found myself transported back to the time when I first met my niece. Despite the fact that this beautiful young woman was a niece by […]
Read more
Shattered ambitions litter the roadside of expectations, ignored by parents, neglected by school, yet filled with all the yearning that are youth made vulnerable, so when a kind man paid attention, told of the blessings of Allah, the kinship of true believers, it was an easy task to reveal the afterlife, the promise of fulfillment for servants of Islam […]
Read more
It’s Snowing in Manila “The snow is always falling in ‘Fargo,’ cloaking the world in metaphysical confusion.” – Jessica Zafra The militant chided the child for singing “White Christmas” when the longest Christmas season isn’t white, in the absence of snow in these parts. (The movement would not give its imprimatur.) But it gets almost-white cold up in Baguio City. But […]
Read more
ROMAN RUMINATION I went to visit ancient Rome, But found it never fell. Its buildings may seem crumbled stone, But it’s alive and well. Its mighty temples still exist Though in an altered form. Its rings of gold and amethyst Still fingers rich adorn. For in the City Vatican The emperor still reigns, Descended from Octavian, […]
Read more
The Waking Nightmare IN THE WAKE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS I RISE AND BLINK HAVE I BEEN LAUGHING HAVE I BEEN CRYING HAVE I BEEN AFRAID OR EXALTED HAVE I SEEN MY UNCONSCIOUS HAVE I BEEN TO OTHER WORLDS HAVE I SEEN THE OTHER OR IS IT ALL BUT A DREAM WHERE I WEPT AND RAN AND […]
Read more