FOR NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT SINKING

For now let's talk about sinking
Cities, said my mother
Who carries a pair of Neptunes
In her eyes and paints about phantoms

In Philippine poetry. Gravity is when
The psychiatrist assessed you
And located a heart that is heavy
For no reason. In an instant, you were

In the sea: a merman sticking his head
Above the surface, swathed in salt
Water, standing by for austere arms,
Like a remembrance possessed by echoes

Of phantoms playing on a record player.
Almost always, there are greetings--
At sunrise, say hello to clouds, to roosters,
To the maps of music you made in your mind.

And when the morning arrived as a Roman
God of waters and seas, you finally walked on land.

Jessie Raymundo teaches composition and literature at PAREF Southridge School. He is currently a graduate student at De La Salle University. His poetry has appeared in a few magazines in the Philippines.