IN THE ABSENCE OF ROSES,we’ve exchanged passagesfrom Murakami,recited dialogue we’ve memorizedfrom funny picturesand dramas on the daisthrough the curtains. We shared ink stains and lead residues,the better to see the playerswho lived in our heads.You gave me the colorsyou hand-picked for my canvasfrom the tint of your lipsand shades of your skin. I traveled your… Continue reading →

I sat on what remains of the chaos
on the sand where the sun used to gleam.
Ashes and gunpowder dress my feet… Continue reading →

Tila ninakaw ang init at galak sa aking diwa
ng mga makinaryang walang awang pumapatay
ng mga kaluluwa. … Continue reading →

Ngunit sa liwanag ay malinaw ang bawat bukas. Panibagong mga tinik, bato, at di maabot-abot na mga talulot.… Continue reading →

And though we stand and walk
on the same ground,
somehow we stoop at their boots
as though their feet float
above us.… Continue reading →

I longed for you before any confirmation you existed. And when you first held my hand, I understood the plan; in the universe’s grandest scheme, in which you and I are written in the stars. … Continue reading →

I like drawings with imperfect lines, paint that goes just a little over the edges. I find chips in decorative craft adorable. … Continue reading →

I want to wake up to new discoveries and not be threatened by the ill intentions of the ones who made them. … Continue reading →

I cast my wishes to the timekeepers
who favored our existence
in the same timelines,
every one of which, I am bound
to find you. … Continue reading →

I hear the breaking of a chain
not long from the hour
when gold scratches on feather
and the hand lays its claim on the nib
once more. … Continue reading →