Ganito (ba) ako?

signed, undine KRIZZIA RICCI NEPOMUCENO

by the coastlines, aquamarine glows bleak and treasures gleam tarnish, traversing the red sundress donned over rich copper skin.

between rows of palm trees, the wind blows hush, lulling the leaves.

like its taut wooden oars, sitting on a dinghy, wincing at each rock skipped as they splash, as they sink— in dread of a looming rush.

with the ebbs and currents, a storm clashes with the waves.

under brisk waters, where weaving tendrils were serpents circling shanks— at the command of Neptune, they clawed at a quilted petticoat.

in the navel of the corals, the herrings plunge deeper to escape.

into a trench, like a trough, numbing darkness glowers; where aghast planktons course through crests to become the ocean’s prey.

by the windswept shores, the saffron sun rests upon the horizon.

the blue scales are scraped away, to uncover the trove of sapphires concealed beneath pallid blood. at the heart of sea, i shall never swim again.

Hiraeth BIRDY

I. freak

Mama and papa don’t like me mama of golden hair, lacquered nails, and red lips papa of heavy brows, pointed nose, and pillared back they smile in public masks of genteel tenderness but masks crumble behind closed doors rancor in their fists, vitriol in their eyes— blood in their throats. Mama and papa don’t like me i of midnight eyes, spotted skin, and tiny feet i of sharp claws, feathered back, and pointed teeth they cradle me; call me blessing, only to drown me in bleach wrest the feathers from my skin file down my teeth ‘til i am human again.

II. oracle

The wind whispers to me it carries deceit spewed from the mouth of familiar voyeurs it bears lies that gouge out eyes from seeing they try to hide wicked words and deadly deeds, but the truth comes wrangling mangled and charred from the abyss, and i see it all. The wind whispers to me it carries crescendos of a time forgotten it bears phantoms of the sea breeze filched from my mind i try to remember the warmth of flushed fingers, paintings on honey skin and the tang of red cardamom spice but the colors blur and ripple like coral sunsets, subdued by gale and night til’ i drown in delude again.

III. homecoming

The skies sing to me elegies of old that pull at my core requiems of a stolen daughter lost to greedy hands i listen to their desolate lullabies and feel their lamentations; let their cries echo, grow steel feathers, sharpen my teeth— rise from the ashes they buried me in. The skies sing to me ballads of joyful reunion and love reveries of promises fulfilled that draw me closer this fire inside smolders and ignites— i gnaw on mama and papa’s steel cage; bruises on my lips, copper on my tongue, stars on my fingertips, yearn and dream til’ i am home again.

Identity ALYSSA NICOLE MAQUIRAN

The world was enshrouded with mid-January chills as fog coiled behind her lenses ‘til she braved obscurity. Twin arches rose from a warehouse that was more debris than it was concrete. Small crescents ringed her palm as she veered herself to the right; a roof—shambles— is better than the biting cold.

Inside, moth-eaten sheets fluttered, the distorted figures gleaming through punctured linen. Amidst the desolation, dark sockets gazed back, each step and turn amplified a thousandfold. A low hoot echoed through the hall, with tufts of white now peeking underneath sable talons; there wasn’t much of a difference. To her left, the brick corridor beckoned.

She bade the moon farewell, her sandals eclipsing the faint imprints of her Stan Smiths before she dared another step. The edifice loomed overhead with its slitted jalousies, mocking her traipse, taunting her lucidity. Inching closer, she caught her eye, gold glinting against darkened bronze; fragments of lapis littered the asphalt, each facet gleaming.

Esklabo sang Misteryo KYNAH RHEA FUENTES

Ginapuga ang kaunuran sang kagutok— indi ko mahangpan nga sa kada pagpili, ini’ng sapatos ang ulihi nga pamatbat. Ayhan kay waay na sang iban nga pililian.

Nagabanog sang ka-siot ugaling dalayon nga nagapahulong-hulong sa kagab-ihon, kalong sa mga hitabo apang sa rumbag nga payag sa ukbong ang dulong.

Sa matag-adlaw, ini ang naandan. Lain ang tuyo, ugaling sa gihapon, pagdayon sa ganhaan, blanko na ang nahibal-an sa sunod nga mga hitabo. Sa pagbutlak sang adlaw, magabugtaw na lamang nga puno sang lagob— pilason.

Pito ka tuig nga pag-antos sa wala mahibal-an nga rason samtang palibot-libot sa katanhagsan. Pito ka tuig nga ugtom sa indi mahangpan nga kahimtangan. Inosente bala ukon nagapabulag-bulag?