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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, June 12, 2014

THE ANGEL, TOO, HAS A SPEAR

Taylor Lauren Kwan, 16, Grandchild #4


THE ANGEL, TOO, HAS A SPEAR

 
(A POEM FOR TAYLOR KWAN, GRANDCHILD #4)

 
Unlike Megan, you would rather paint on small spaces.
Like finger nails. Your abuela’s toes looked easy to kiss
With those curlicues you laboured on: Hearts on toes?
But that is who you are: Tough as nails, smart alecky.
All putty and tender and gentle and soft, killer dimples
Allowing all aches to zing through your unfading grin.

What will it be like when next you find yourself hurt?
Will anyone dare crush your armour of tough charm?
While you have the easy and languid grimace of dad,
You, like your mom, can warn fools with a steely smile,
A counterpoise of loving and contempt in your smirk.

To abuela, you are a toddling sweetly-burbling baby
On the phone; to your Tati Jing, you have true method
To your smug, impregnable, hard-to-cut-and-hurt mien;
To your abuelo, like it or not, you are still his beauty
Fiend and regal clown, who could paint a broken heart
On a nail that could be nullified by a laughing face
On another on a hand that has just quickly wiped tears
From your eyes, unseen by anyone, away from the sneer
Of one who would not know you.  An angel with a spear.

---ALBERT B. CASUGA




Not in picture, Grandchildren #1 (Diana Casuga Dy)
and #2 (Daniel Anthony Dy), busy at university.

L-R: (Front row) Birthday Cake. (Second Row): Sydney #7, Marie #10, Lola Veronica, Chloe # 8, Louis #9. (third row): Megan #5, Lolo ABC, Taylor #4, and Mikey #6. (Back, all by his tiptoeing self---Matthew #3)