This poem is part of a virtual gallery to celebrate the launch of my new novel, Afterwards.
Afterwards
is an edifice half on stilts and half unroofed for a newborn’s entrance into the world
is the crimson edging his mother’s skirt as she lies on a makeshift couch waiting for the afterbirth
is the blueprint of darkness drawn in detail beneath a swell of water
is the hollow in the wall of the factory and the sign over a buried church reading Esperar
is the ring of beaten silver around the Badjao woman’s finger and the slow listing of the ferry
is the peeling bark of trees disguised as outriggers stranded in the shoals
is the lantern burning its last store of oil and the doctor tearing his surgical coat into strips
is the helicopter and its cargo of bottled water hovering over no place to land
is the republic of the drowned and its plazas decorated with abandoned basketball courts
is the bread of nothing and the salt of nothing and the crust of nothing freely shared
is the new address of the dead whose gravestones have all been moved to the sea
is the children carrying a jug of water and a clutch of nearly deflated balloons they found lashed to a tree
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Poet Luisa A. Igloria new book THE SAINTS OF STREETS (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2013) is available now: www.luisaigloria.com/books. She is also is the author of Juan Luna’s Revolver (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize, University of Notre Dame Press), Trill & Mordent(WordTech Editions, 2005) and 8 other books. When she isn’t writing, reading, or teaching, she cooks with her family, hand-binds books, listens to tango music, and keeps her radar tuned for cool lizard sightings. Visit her website for more information.
“I wrote this poem because of the state of calamity in southern Philippines from the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. More than 10000 people are dead, and it will take a long time to rehabilitate these areas. Even the minimum Philippines Red Cross donation of $2 (equivalent to just under a hundred Philippine pesos) goes a long way to helping those stricken. Please donate to the Philippines Red Cross here: www.redcross.org/ph.”
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“The book is sprinkled with subtle nuances and deep insights that can be applied to many of our own lives if we took the time to mull them over.” ~ Mel
Afterwards is the new novel from Satya Robyn. After a serious car crash shatters April’s mundane life, she decides to run the London marathon. Will she reach the finishing line? Compelling and illuminating, it reminds us that it is never too late to begin over again..