Jonel Abellanosa (2 poems)
The Strangers
Five minutes are all I need to
weigh words. I don’t ask
questions, but if I hear
answers, we’re halfway.
If side by side with you for
the first time I know I’ve
known you, that’s my cue
for the last minute.
Roads remain the same
but not the views. I’m always
a new country. I have cities
expansive as you want them
to be. My trees have outgrown
roots. You might see the ground
as sunlight, hear the wind
leave birdsong as refrain.
The Bees
Concern is like a treeless hive.
Colonies collapse my
mind. I picture hexagons for
thoughts, see larvae, pupae.
Time is the only honeycomb
left. I measure myself
against water, sun the pollen
way, dark apiary.
When they mature I show the sky. Whisper, follow the light.
From my burning sanctuary
go, seek silence in hearts.
Let ash cross foreheads, love broken
as your homes. Be the words
of their wholehearted prayer, as
ruins bring eyes lower.
Jonel Abellanosa resides in Cebu City, the Philippines. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals, including Rattle, Poetry Kanto, Pedestal Magazine, Mojave River Review, and Star*Line. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and Dwarf Stars award. His fourth chapbook, "Songs from My Mind's Tree," has been published in early 2018 by Clare Songbirds Publishing House (New York), which will also publish his full-length collection, "Multiverse," in late 2018. His poetry collection, "Sounds in Grasses Parting," is forthcoming from Moran Press.