ROXAS-CHUA 姚

DILA

• • •

he wanted to plant it on the ground
and wish for a boy with a beak
this time—like Jesus whose father
was a dove, with a crown
illuming a whitish-gold light,
la luz. The light of Christ, kandila,
sounds like Candle, dila, tongue—
my tongue is borrowed
because…Dear Lord,
I’ve been seething decades
of my name minus
from my father’s mouth.

• • •

from “Saying Your Name Three Times Underwater” (Lithic Press)