bawlin is / the bigfeathered quill
mmm ignorance runneth over
yelling an every-word &
wound loudmouth slicey dice
bondage c/o each block of text
gift of pent-up prisonment
riddles each a safety barrier
blockade crisping shut all meaning
oozing thru these figures / of ink
delining each solitary operant / sonnet
& the treachery of the perfect prosaic
gouging thickthumbed erotic
the authority of a metaphor [&c., &c., …………….. ]
Olivetti M. Millado, also known as
Becker Beckerbone, was born and raised in Zambales Philippines, and is a single mother of five. A Marketing Admin for Hinabing Mga Salita Publishing House, she is a member of POWER FOUR, a group of 4 Filipina women who are passionate about writing poetry. She was a two-time finalist for the Migrant Poetry Competition in 2017 and 2019, and was one of the contributors for Call and Response, an anthology featuring poems from both migrant and Singaporean poets. She has also contributed to some published books in the Phillppines (GTB 1 and 2, Fascinating Septon), and has had her poems published in True Friends, a Hong Kong-based magazine. Writing poetry and short stories is one of her hobbies and greatest passion—it is her way of contemplating and viewing life, as well as to express her feelings to others and touch their lives.
Marylyn Tan is a queer, female, linguistics graduate, poet, and artist, who has been performing spoken word since 2014. She is invested in the building of community, emancipating the marginalised, and the alienated, endangered body. Her first volume of poetry, GAZE BACK (published by Ethos Books; Lambda Literary Award 2019 loser), is the lesbo Singaporean trans-genre witch grimoire you never knew you needed. Marylyn has been published in various anthologies, including A Luxury We Must Afford, Inheritance, and ASINGBOL Anthology. She writes for your bewilderment.