By: April Mae M. Berza

The womb of the words could not give birth to this longing
Let me caress your shadow now that I’m missing you.

Shades of blue devour my heart as I awake this morning
Now that you are gone, I am left alone, missing you.

I hate those giant curtains covering the windows
It makes me want to wipe the tears with it, missing you.

The cold coffee, the cold bread, the cold butter,
I ask that you remain for a second because I’m missing you.

I could not discover another word for grief, my darling,
The syntax of time calls for a hiatus, missing you.

The chirping clock forgets its duty today, only today
I wander into the kingdom of dreams, missing you.

Sorrow penetrates into my left ventricle for so long,
Piercing my caged heart into its coldness, missing you.

My flowers forget to remind me to water them,
Staring the whole day into the ceiling, missing you.

This Mojave desert thirst could be quenched by your presence
Be an oasis with me as soon as possible now that I’m missing you.

Pain drives me mad I begin to let go and dance and sing,
Sorrow is insulin to your diabetic kiss, missing you.

*****

April Mae M. Berza is the author of Confession ng isang Bob Ong Fan (Flipside, 2014). Her poems and short stories appeared in numerous publications in the US, Canada, Romania, India, Japan, UK and the Philippines. Her poems are translated in Crimean Tatar and Filipino. Some of her poems are published in The Siren, Poetica, Metric Conversions, Ani, The Manila Times and Contemporary Verse 2, to name a few. Her poem “E-Martial Law” was broadcast on IndoPacific Radio on KPFA 94.1FM/kpfa.org. She is a member of Poetic Genius Society. She lives in Taguig, Philippines.