Published in Ph Free Press; Upcoming in Ribbons: Tanka Society of America

"Tunnels" can now be viewed at the website of the Philippines Free Press. According to EIC Joel Toledo they expect the publication to be back in print by this year, otherwise it will remain fully online. Though of course it would be nice to be like the good ol days, where the magazine had national distribution. *edit* the magazine's site seems to be down, so I'll post the poem here so it's available.

Tunnels

We dug

hollows

into the earth

into her heart

called these tunnels

so we could pass

back and forth

to and from our destinations

to and fro

day and night

in rumbling vehicles that echo

this hollow being

and this is how we shape the world

in the image of our hearts.

I got an acceptance letter for one of my tanka today from Mr. David Rice, the editor of Ribbons by the Tanka Society of America. David suggested several revisions, which let me understand more the importance of the economy of words in poetry. This is even more important in short forms like the tanka and haiku. The poem is set to appear in the spring/summer issue of the magazine.

Thank God for the good news. I've been getting lots of rejection slips lately and was starting to wonder whether I should go on a hiatus muna.