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ALBERT B. CASUGA, a Philippine-born writer, lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where he continues to write poetry, fiction, and criticism after his retirement from teaching and serving as an elected member of his region's school board. He was nominated to the Mississauga Arts Council Literary Awards in 2007. A graduate of the Royal and Pontifical University of St. Thomas (now University of Santo Tomas, Manila. Literature and English, magna cum laude), he taught English and Literature (Criticism, Theory, and Creative Writing) at the Philippines' De La Salle University and San Beda College. He has authored books of poetry, short stories, literary theory and criticism. He has won awards for his works in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Philippines. His latest work, A Theory of Echoes and Other Poems was published February 2009 by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. His fiction and poetry were published by online literary journals Asia Writes and Coastal Poems recently. He was a Fellow at the 1972 Silliman University Writers Workshop, Philippines. As a journalist, he worked with the United Press International and wrote an art column for the defunct Philippines Herald.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

A PENNY FOR HIS THOUGHTS



A PENNY FOR HIS THOUGHTS

Because it looked like an unwashed navel,
The penny had no pickers, until he found it.


He said it is either the day’s lucky coin or it
Is a token that his thought was worth one.


First thought: the moth in the sparrow’s
Beak could pass for a small white petal.


Why would that be a strange image?
These windshield defecators scavenge


For wrigglers or anything small and alive,
But flowers? Birds will not prey on beauty,


Random as it may be in this unlikely garden,
They would rather chew on moving things,


Like wrigglers, dumpster maggots, scooped
Dog or cat poop still warm in grocery bags.


Final thought: Why would I prefer to keep
The dirty coin instead of leaving it there?


No choice can be made between a coin
And a petal; I’d have all or nothing at all.


---Albert B. Casuga

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