WEARING BLACK ON ST. VALENTINE’S DAY

jet-black
my get-up today, from the upper
to the underwear:

black shirt, the color of mourning
on this loveliest of mornings.
black denims, the hue of rue.

black shoes and socks.
black briefs, the shade of grief.
black heart i wear on my sleeve—

and all because i can't have you!

Written by Ralph Semino Galan. February 19, 1996. Philippine Graphic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ralph Semino Galán
Ralph Semino Galán
Ralph Semino Galán is a prize-winning poet and translator, literary and cultural critic, and editor. He is the Assistant Director of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies. He is the author of the The Southern Cross and Other Poems (UBOD New Authors Series, NCCA, 2005), Discernments: Literary Essays, Cultural Critiques and Book Reviews (USTP, 2013), From the Major Arcana (USTPH, 2014), and Sa mga Pagitan ng Buhay at Iba pang Pagtutulay (USTPH, 2018).

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