For Nasudi Francine, for reading the books

You will keep on reading the books, dear.

The winds are changing here on my window.

They grip me so and tell me of moons beyond

The mountains, those that reveal themselves

Past our Marikina Heights home, the one we

All know, keep it forever like a birthmark

And the memory of the birth bag, my own

Your grandfather buried on tree tops.



Like you, I read the books, all those that

I could lay my hands on in tall trees,

The tall tales they tell me enchant me

In the magic of first and lasting loves,

Those that go with whispers, the ones

Sustained by silences and daydreams,

Those that announce their presences

Without words, like the distance between

Us all now, I in the this wild wanderings,

You in the hearth, haven of our best days.



Yesterday, I went to the Santa Filomena

To ask for grace, the one that will give

Us millions of courage, millions of smiles

To embolden us once more as Christmas

Comes around in the corner, reminds us

To reunite by emails and the Forex box of prayers.



Even as I sigh each second of seeing you

In my mind, you with your dolls and teddy bears,

Even as I count the memories with the months

On the calendar and witness the wilting

Of two years, withering like fallen leaves,

I keep on hoping for your child's embrace.



Aurelio S. Agcaoili

Artesia, CA, USA

Nov. 8, 2004