The Refutal Of Home

The Refutal of Home

One eye sees far-off—
earth

of stinging echoes
rising from the bellows of the valley,
an outcry
against the river

the rain’s footsteps
like fluttering wings
of birds, swift like a barfight
in the waning coverlet of dark

the sky resurfacing ocean
azure, yet finite in its box,
marking the incendiary
beginning of couplet.

Other eye sees close—
home

of lament:
the paint-chipped voices
of my ancestors,
like groping claws
hanging from the walls

of flight:
the raised skirts and wanton-heeled stride
through the
billowing streets
of my city

of water:
the wailing superstitions
of my mother
like burnt hair
brittle in unease



Published: Philippine Graphic Vol. 19 No. 33