Contributor: M. Protacio-De Guzman

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When the clear liquid drops
From its obscene bottle
To the glass anticipating
Its rapid flow, I let go
And swim in its wave
Of ice and sparkling soda
Riding the crest like
Some sun-baked surfer
Atop that perfect swell.

Or I become a fish
Splitting the sea with fins
That sparkle under the glow
Of the moon and stars over
The black shimmering face
That echoes the sea in me.

Then I become wind
That blows the tide away
As night birds glide above
Trees, casting shadows
Within shadows on
Every sleeping being.

But no matter what form
What creature I become
Whether I am possessed
By the spirits in the glass
Or not,
I can never come close
To the splendor of
What I can be
With you.

In the end, loneliness
Is more intoxicating
Than any liquor.


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M. Protacio-De Guzman is from Manila, Philippines. His poems have appeared and have been anthologized in local and international publications, most recently in Off the Rocks Anthology Volume 19.