To Love as Aswang

BY BARBARA JANE REYE S

With razorblade eyes The Filipina is most sincere

With too much water And will make a very good wife.

With animal teeth The Filipina is a loyal partner,

We sometimes kill Deserving of all your love.

With splintered hands The Filipina is the total package,

With too much life Much more than meets the eye.

With ribcage unlocked The Filipina is not for you,

We wither your roots If you cannot handle her claws.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56952/to-love-as-aswang

To Be Walang Hiya
BY BARBARA JANE REYE S

Bubblegum lip gloss kissed, Our lifelines, our mirrors,

I was never a singkil princess These are Luminous Mysteries

Knuckle cracking, polished toes, Our notebooks, our language,

I was never a Santacruzan queen To witness, to make way,

Black eyeliner, push up bra Our thirst and our wedding bands

I was never a curtsying debutante To fill stone jars with water, to wed,

Loud, gum-smacking babygirl Our glamour and our armor.

I was never a tiaraed Miss Fil Am To transfigure, dazzling as the sun.