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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.

Friday, December 20, 2013

AFTER AFTER: A LONGING




AFTER AFTER: A LONGING
1.
After after, is there anything or anyone
left to sing the hammock songs? After after,
will you still be there waiting,  a warm blanket
in your hands, to throw the flannel on my lap,
lest I drool myself to a sundown slumber
and promptly forget it gets cold in the winter?
Aiee, amor mio, despues de nuestros amores,
when love is gone, after all the countless days,
where shall we find that place called after?
If it is lost, too, will there always be another?
Will this longing for the warmth of a gentle caress,
when nights and beds are cold, find its answer?
Will it be a knowing touch on my back after after?
2.
Tomorrow, I will walk through an abandoned garden in the rain:
I will tilt my face to some grey sky like an agape earthen jar, catch
myself some nourishing rain. Must I, on my gnarled knees, beg
for these hurts to set me free? My hummingbirds will fly off
leaving me this mansion of joy, but oh, a finite hint of eternity.
Sometime soon, I must frolic in this uncertain weather, dash
through this shower of grace, sate my parched throat in the rain,
drink myself deliriously happy.  But after after, will you be there?
--- ALBERT B. CASUGA

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