Karina Lagdameo-Santillan

POEM     The wind swirls around and strums the leaves. The monsoon arrives without a warning. A deluge, an outpouring from the heavens, As if in answer to the call of the earth. Parched, dry, drought, famine. Thousands, in…

POEM     In the darkness With eyes closed In the silence I call you   I sit and breathe in Waves of calmness Waiting quietly For you   I ask no questions I seek no answers I simply want to…

POEM     I can see the sky getting darker I can hear the gods playing with thunder. I can see the wind blowing stronger I can hear the dogs barking harder.   I can feel you when you cry…

a personal narrative   I was rummaging through some stuff from the past to let go, when I came upon an old magazine– a Rogue Magazine (circa May 2008!) that featured its first annual Philippine Music Portfolio featuring the heavyweights,…

POEM     A smile on the face Of a young man passing by A bird on a branch Who looks right at you, then at the sky The whisper of the wind On a hot and arid day A…

PROSE POEM     #1.The Turtle Pond Mornings, as a child, I watch him go down the stairs The China man, clad in all white, who lives upstairs. Newspaper in hand, all ready for a day’s work, But, before anything…

Opinions   I’m a retired senior citizen of the Philippines, just one of your average middle-class Filipinas. Last May 9, 2022, I, and millions of citizens, turned out to cast their votes in a hotly contested National Election for the…

POEM       Be it mother or father son or daughter brother sister your beloved life companion… This is To the One.   We are stronger than we think. We are deeper than we feel. We are wider than…

POEM       Morning companion, my buddy, my friend Every day, she sits on her favorite branch Right outside my bedroom window.   She wiggles, she chirps She stretches her wings She looks at me, straight in the eye.…

POEM       O, lord of all divinity, I ask for your guiding grace and beauty.   In this world, a wondrous rainbow Of races, colors, and creeds,   How can we continue down this path of impunity. Show…