How The Morning Finds Me

Dog walking on footpath during autumn morning

๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜”๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ.๐˜๐˜ต ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ,๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด.๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ.๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด,๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. ๐˜๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ. ๐˜๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ,๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜จ […]

Two Altars

Taluntunan, Mogpog, Marinduque

Iโ€™ve been thinking a lot about how the same sunset feels different depending on where you stand. This piece, Two Altars, is my attempt to capture this, one version from the mountains, one from the sea. Itโ€™s written in haibun form (prose + haiku), and it means a lot to me. Hope it brings you a quiet moment.

The 4 AM Internet Rabbit Hole and Finding Your Voice Through Ezra Pound

white and blue butterflies illustration

I woke up at 4 AM, eager to write poetry before distractions began. Instead, I got sidetracked by Louise Glรผck and ended up exploring Ezra Poundโ€™s advice to W.S. Merwin: to find your voice, first learn to translate others. This led me to use AI to examine my writing. Each generated version reflected what my voice isnโ€™t. Join me on this journey of self-discovery through rejection and reflection.

Night Swimming

By the Beach. Torrijos, Marinduque.

Night Swimming I practiced hurtlike how pearls are made,methodically, with attention,this art of controlled wounding. This is how. First,you learn to treasure what harms you,learn how beautiful things comefrom bodies in distress. But the ocean knows better.It knows the differencebetween cultivation and calcification,between keeping and containing.The pearls do not need your midnight tending. Watch how […]

The Witness

A scarecrow in an empty field.

The Witness by April Pagaling (in reply to โ€œWala Nang Tao sa Sta. Filomenaโ€) You stand in the stubbled field,a scarecrow stripped of purpose,shirt faded to the hue of stillborn harvests. January light knifes sideways,spilling shadows longer than your body,stretching beyond the momentof its making. I have witnessed this scene before.Escalanteโ€™s fencepost scarecrowdraped in a […]

Lesson on Flowers

The flower openswithout violence.This is what I learned in elementary,how resistance lives in softness.I stand in the kitchen, watchingpetals drift into my teacup,thinking of my motherโ€™s handsfolding white sheets,how they will yellow with time.Everything palebecomes something else.In dreams, I am notthis daughter who changeswithout permission.I am the space betweenwhat she savedand what she lost.She told […]

Night Inventory

The absence of connection burns differently than the absence of touch. A poem about loneliness and how two bodies can share a bed while their hearts inhabit separate countries.

The Spiderโ€™s Gospel

Walking around in Sagada and finding this beautiful spider web. A meditation on grief and finding comfort in unexpected places and a reflection on rebuilding and survival.

Hamog ng Enero

Marinduque Sea of Clouds

The chill of January mornings in Marinduque and navigating the cold, thinking of unspoken young love. Discover how the Sea of Clouds intertwines with the warmth of a fleeting smile in this introspective poem.