We are currently accepting submissions for the Auditory Cortex special feature devoted entirely to Asian voices. Selected poems are published on a rolling basis on Cha: An Asian Literary Journal‘sContinue reading[Call for Submissions] The Auditory Cortex Special Feature

Grandfather burns paper money every 初一十五
first one is always 天地父母 sky land daddy mommy
then comes 土地公 dirt land grandpa
almost sounds like a family gathering
… Continue readingFirst One Fifteen

O
faces,
twisted
… Continue readingSoeng 殤

She carefully put
her make-up on, donned
bright red lipstick
and dark eyeshadow. … Continue readingTo Become a Fashion Model

The blushing brides shy away from guests at
weddings—which promised new houses to
their indigent parents—they show us money cannot buy
… Continue readingForeign Husbands

is where white tourists strolling by Buddha’s closing
eyes and grabbing a kid’s growing breasts
here human dignity cannot afford a fish amok
… Continue readingWhere Girls are Cheaper than Air Conditioners

The bruised ones are the sweetest, perfect
for smoothies. The blackest, almost rotten,
make the finest breads. Top dollar wisdom
… Continue readingThe Bruised Ones

We are well-represented in
the international arena:
In boxing, we have Manny’s
you know, Pekyaw … Continue readingYou Know

Be proud
               I am the first lobotomy
Of a Filipino
… Continue readingThe First Ever Moonman Remembers?

Into few verses grappling a hiding poet, a daily sundown ritual,
Brownie interrupts me, losing thoughts I’ve built to find
meaning. What a name, you’d ask, a bland broth boiled with nothing
but water. … Continue readingTwo Poems

Under the jeep to Balbalan,
A young man tips the scales with his body,
a dangled apostrophe on the precipice.
… Continue readingHow Much Does A Single Breath Weigh?

Mother’s first English word is san q
as in thank you for allowing her English
… Continue readingSan Q Gudebai

My eight abandoned lives are staring back at me
from the perfectly clean porcelain plate
that’s placed right in front of me.
… Continue readingDisambiguation

On Monday, the sky fell
like matracas. San Pedro slammed
a globe on the rack
        of                       thunder balls.
… Continue readingApocryphal Notes on Thunder

Rainy season, running song
on Hibiscus leaves
teared heavy drops at high notes.
… Continue readingIt Rains, I Write Ukiah

Malayalam sneaks into my mind,
the trail of a bride’s veil—
quiet, inevitable.
… Continue readingMalayalam is Not a Foreign Body

Eh, macha. What, macha?
They call each other macha, macha.
Who, macha? They, macha.
… Continue readingOde to the (Malaysian) Indian Macha