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Three New Poems
The Demanding Gospel
For Sunil Stephens
“Luke’s Gospel is a gospel of mercy; it emphasizes Jesus’ identification with the poor and the lowly, and His willingness to forgive sinners. Yet it is also a demanding gospel, for it shows that being a follower of Christ...
Déjà vu
It was cold on the day I reaped my first soul. I had known it was coming—had been preparing for it. Although I had watched my mentor do it all summer, although I had prepared for this day, I was not ready. He...
Slaughterhouse Poems
When My Father Passed Away
This theater is a slaughterhouse
where filaments of grief
are too shifty to cut,
amusing guests who come
along with gestures
broadly understanding
what brought them in,
inscribing very clearly
associations overhanging
with the deceased.
The bereaved insists on
what needs to be preserved
along fertility lines, which
unkind behavior should
be dismembered.
Here,...
Just a Pomelo Fruit
No, not again! Mayla heard herself complain when she saw the long queues. She could not make it on time for her favorite TV news program! There were several long lines towards the waiting buses bearing different sign boards: Monumento, Cubao, Sta. Ana,...
My Sister, the Serial Dater
I told her not to go to the meet-up with Red Dragon 143. But my sister was the Queen of Stubborn, and she gave me the slip. To this day, I couldn’t believe I fell for the old pillows-under-the-blanket trick.
If only I...
Reunion Introspection
Life at 75
My silver mane shows
Natural beauty of age
With warts, lines and all
My silver mane speaks
Of struggle and redemption
With passion and faith
On departed classmates
Gone forever now
Memories we celebrate
Lives well lived and loved
On our humanity
Human lives deserve
Peace that is socially just
Fight for it we...
