Jonel Abellanosa


The Heliotrope

After the image by Chito Irigo

Bloodstone urge, chalcedony lift of
sense, in the ribcage. Intuition I clasp
as invisibility stone, makes me turn.
Inflorescence of humility, desire to

learn and willingness to be taught,
still eye and intimating ear. The trope
slips between wooden slats, abloom
from the darkness I nurture, trope

that echoes, knows where light rests.
What I don’t know takes much more
space than an abandoned garage that
used to be my lab. I pause and sit

where clarity speaks new forms, listen
longer than birds versify. Then I follow
again, where grip and mastery shorten.
I give, shocked into recognition.



The Library

Not knowing what, not finding.
Nothing new. I closed the book
on the worn, walking from what
I wanted to believe, onward to

years. Wondered, wondering
as I wander, wander. Sun with
light as ink, cursive on leaves,
sidewalk eggshells like blank

pages. The open beating like
a poem, abloom with aromas,
phrasal as fried fish. I’m hearing
truly, birds singing psalms to

the unborn, gloaming still in
the afternoon’s womb. My
reeducation takes a turn, takes
a turn. I’ll never return. Turn.


The Ending

I get to put the flute down. I get
to say circle of two years. To say
it was the baying. Closer it was,
aim as the burning hay, aim as

the bay. I tried the boat, the bay
curving, sunlight leaving curves.
No sound precedes the echo, no
water the last to darken, water

yet to come. I don’t know yet
if deeper is bluer. The bowl if
porcelain will show, porcelain
itself the lone image, in itself

the stand. Golden as the stand
the small tree I feel, the small
one more time, to be one more
free, no echo from electricity.




A previous contributor to Otoliths, Jonel Abellanosa lives in Cebu City, the Philippines. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals, including New Verse News, That Literary Review, The Lyric, The McNeese Review and Star*Line, nominated for the Pushcart, Best of the Net and Dwarf Stars awards. His poetry collections are Meditations (Alien Buddha Press), Songs from My Mind’s Tree and Multiverse (Clare Songbirds Publishing House), 50 Acrostic Poems (Cyberwit, India), and his politically-progressive collection, In the Donald’s Time (Poetic Justice Books and Art). His first speculative poetry collection, Pan’s Saxophone, is forthcoming from Weasel Press.
 
 
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