tanka

refugees
on their last legs--
playground stones
in the cupped hand
of a lifeless child

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Resaca Issue 2

Image
Translation of Antonio Machado's poem XV  Come sing with me in chorus: There’s nothing, nothing we know, from an arcane sea we came, to a mapless sea we’ll go… And between the two enigmas is the serious mystery; three arks are locked by an undiscovered key. By light nothing is lit, by the sage nothing is shown. What does the word say? Or water from the stone? XVII  Man’s only rich in hypocrisy, relies on ten thousand kinds of lying disguise, and from the spare key to his house he labors to make a lockpick good for robbing his neighbor’s. XXXI  Heart, resounding yesterday, the ringing of your small gold coin has gone away? The box you hide your wealth in, before time breaks it, is emptying inside? The few things that we know, let’s trust they won’t turn out to be true. XLIV  All passes and all stays, but passing is ours, for we pass along making roads, roads over the sea.    XLV  To die… To fall like a drop of sea in the sea so vast? Or to be what I’ve ...
Read more

Lucecita Benitez - Cabalgata

Image
Letra de Roberto Carlos Cabalgaré toda la noche Por una senda colorida Mis besos te daré en derroche De una manera algo atrevida Me aferraré de tus cabellos Por no caer de ese galope Voy a atender a mis anhelos Antes que el día nos sofoque Me perderé de madrugada Para encontrarte en mi abrazo Después de nuestra cabalgata Me acostaré en tu regazo Sin importarme si en ese instante Soy dominado o si domino Me sentiré como un gigante O tan pequeño como un niño Y las estrellas del lugar Se nos acercan para ver Y aún conservan su brillar Después de nuestro amanecer Y en la grandeza de ese instante Mi amor cabalga sin saber Que en la belleza de esa hora El sol espera por nacer Y las estrellas del lugar Se nos acercan para ver Y aún conservan su brillar Después de nuestro amanecer Y en la grandeza de ese instante Mi amor cabalga sin saber Que en la belleza de esa hora
Read more

Undertow Poetry Review, La Resaca First Issue

Image
  Karlo Sevilla Dear Aesthete,  This Could Turn Deadly   You whisper to me that the lonely firefly that blinks and dives down the undergrowth is a teardrop of a broken star.   And this same night amidst the chaos, the infant’s soft laughter is the chimes of a miniature carillon — the last music her mother shall ever hear now that the martial knocks tremble the wooden door.   And you yourself have long realized that you will stand up against injustice no matter the cost, because the most beautiful thing in this life is to do what is right even at supreme sacrifice. © Karlo Sevilla Philippines  Karlo Sevilla of Quezon City, P nohilippines is the author of the full-length poetry collection “Metro Manila Mammal” (Soma Publishing, 2018) and the chapbook “You” (Origami Poems Project, 2017). Recognized among The Best of Kitaab 2018 and nominated twice for the Best of the Net, his poems appear in Philippines Graphic, Revolt Magazine, Radius, Ramingo's Porch, Unlike...
Read more