By: April Mae Berza

Let my hello catch you once more,
a checkmate in our conversations,
the blades of grass not yet mowed

as high as the fence.

The river be a river,
envious of the pearls in your chest
the ones I gifted you
when we were riding a horse;
the river weeping alone
whispers a spring tune
to hide my hello.

I know you listen to my hellos
even if you are asleep
dreaming of drowning from a river
of obvious oblivion.

If my hello could salvage you
from the nightmares of maidenhood
let my finger draw a hello
in the mirror on your bathroom.

###:

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 the America, France, Canada, Romania, India, Japan, Great Britain and the Philippines. Her poems are translated in Crimean Tatar and Filipino. Some of her poems are published in Liwayway, Belleville Park Pages, Haiku Journal, The Siren, Poetica, Three Line Poetry, Calliope, Maganda, Metric Conversions, Ani, The Manila Times, Asahi Haikuist Network, Contemporary Verse 2, and elsewhere. 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.