THE GODDESS OF BOOKS AND THE SINGER-SONGWRITER by April Mae M. Berza

The Goddess of Books and the Singer-Songwriter by April Mae M. Berza

(for Dale)

I am but a goddess of books

welcoming you with my loveliest chapters,

the soul of eternal words and finite worlds.

You are a mortal, a singer-songwriter,

who crafts poetic kisses and embraces

to my lips, mellifluous, mellifluous.

Music embraces the two of us

and I sing paeans for you

as you immortalize me with songs.

Open up the library of my wounds

and a vast kingdom of lexicons

will show you a way to my heart.

The gates to a secret Paradise

are enchanted pages to my skin,

leaf through the pages and own me.

My divine bones and sinews

are passages to a beautiful realm,

read me up until the breaking dawn.

We both drink the sweetest wine

from an immortal cup, immortal cup

making you a deity, an equal.

We meet in bookshelves of dreams,

the sweetest Philomels serenading.

Worship me with welcoming worlds.

April Mae M. Berza is the author of Confession ng isang Bob Ong Fan (Flipside, 2014) and Berso de Berza (Charging Ram, 2012.) Her poems and short stories appeared in numerous publications in America, France, Canada, Belgium, Romania, India, Japan, Great Britain, and the Philippines. She received an Honorable Mention in the 19th HIA Haiku Contest and the 7th Akita Russia-Japan Haiku Contest. She currently resides in Taguig, Philippines.