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Philippines Graphic Reader
Born of the Earth
We were all once
born of the earth—
keeper of her breath,
kin to root and river,
to feather and fur,
to the anito, the diwata,
and the taw’t talun,
spirits who dwell around us.
But that was
before conquest,
before the forgetting.
The invaders came
with the sword and the cross,
with maps and muskets,
naming...
Song of Nothing
Sunday blessed peace from nothing—
and nothing was a woman reduced
to a child's love running after drunken anger
letting go of nothing,
again nothing—
nothing was napping in the rainy afternoon,
a hand held by nothing—
like a bladder scar that said no puedo,
estoy bien cos esto, esta bien...
Pablo Tariman Spotted at Gourmet Gypsy Café
come to me in the high notes
of an oboe amidst the din of
a cafe turned concert venue
for in your hands & vision
every place can sacredly
contain the tunes that
let tears freely flow
into one's cup or
your goblet of red wine
deficit concerts, you called them,
gatherings of...
The Bliss of Old Socks
I toss brand new socks back and rifle
through drawers for solace and kindness
The old ones surrender and smile at me
the garters have given up they are
indolent around the ankles while
flesh peeps through threadbare cloth at the heels
Neckties hang in the order they were
hung...
Risen
All that I've got is a sinful heart
I am offering. What is it for a cloak in you
that I wanted to be clothed in?
Blessing is only for the poor, widowed
and miserable. But there is a peeping hole
even in the darkest cave. An entrance
to...
Chicken Adobo
I watch my Mama pour a sachet of Milointo three cups, adding a lot of brown sugar to it—stirring them slowly, as though she could stretch the day out longer than it will last. Her shoulders droop, and a deep sigh escapes her...
