Recedes

Blankness omitted, less to tell the fishpond. No matter how vibrant, or faint your water, I sense
your presence, even envy stares. Two worms, tenderly, locking their forms. Disappearing, I
glued my face to desire, whom I assume assurance. I should be elsewhere, yet I twaddle in my
bed. When crying, tell me, this tropical scent throughout the rain, and everything I truly wish for,
it recedes.

Afterglow

On a bench after the seasonal work shift.
Siren charms the municipal building &
Silence flew to absorb each other.
Karaoke growl to your stomach.
To resentful, to critical cries.
It shouldn’t have been viable.
All thoughtful beliefs have swallowed.
The stillness seeps to you & mildly queries.

Joefel Bolo is a queer writer from the Philippines. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Harvard Advocate, beestung, Ouch! Collective, and elsewhere.