In the year 1950, my village knew little of the Cold War although its geopolitical tremors reached even our mountains. The Philippine national government,...
Fritz and the llamaLive in the desert.Fritz waves Hi to a camel.The llama spits at it.“How rude!” says the camel.“She’s my sister,” says Fritz.Fritz...
Shoes
Paper cutouts folded to fit
my back pocket. I carry them along
through bus ride and train tracks.
I’ll be gone for a few hours.
My daughters look...
The painting started out as one crude sketch,
lines and proportions silly. All over the scenery,
smudge of trees and houses. There was form
and there was...
1
Night falls
I hear crickets
And the sound of waves
As the sea marks
A quiet day
Towards a somber weekend
2
I have lived with face masks
And face shields
For years
And where did they get me?
I learned to greet
With muffled voice
And learned to smile
With my own eyes
I learned how to...
1
“The fish are small,” Amir lamented. “The catch is pitiful. They won’t fetch a good price. I’m afraid we can’t raise the money for the operation, Papang.”
Amir’s rough, hard hands deftly manipulated the blade, cleaving through the dolphinfish with precision. Flesh, sinew,...
In memory of the hundreds of trash pickers who perished in the garbage slide at the Payatas dumpsite on July 10, 2000
From the skeleton
Of disemboweled mattresses
Bent scrap of metal
You honed to pointed perfection
To stab at the refuse of the world
In this moment’s defeat
You...
The red-orange hue of the fading sunlight cast a pale glow on the walls of the house. It indicated that the summer night would be warm, if not hotter than the day that struck 39 degrees. The old Sombreto stared at passing birds...
Sampaguita
The flower sold;their faith restored.
The Philippines: A living Beach House
A living beach house is what the Philippines is.A place with endless fiestas and parties, Filipino culture isimmersed in.
The tropical beaches to relax along the coastline, and partiesmeeting lasting friendly faces and their grinning...
I
It started out innocently. One casual greeting at a time, a nod of recognition from across the room, a synchronized laugh. None of it had to mean anything.
He seemed harmless, at first, quiet and shy, not the sort who could ever be...