(October is Filipino American History month)
21
Moth like a heart
in a sack, in a mesh
of dust and light,
impelled by promise:
frenzy so small
and slight.
22
You call,
you write—
What can I do
for you, so far
away on the other
side of the world?
23
Nightmare
of living between
worlds whose edges
do not so easily
touch— Winding road
through treacherous
mountains, wide enough
for only one
vehicle to pass—
24
Don’t ask me
when or why
Don’t ask me
words like
remittance
forsaken
forgotten
return
25
Some days words
are all we can have:
a small flower
to keep from winter
under glass, a paper boat
to crease and uncrease;
whole towns of dreams
that sway, precarious,
on stilts—
In response to Via Negativa: Moth.