Umiiyak ang panulat
Pagtangis ng kamangmangan
Humihiyaw ang bawat kataga
Sumusugat, humihiwa
Gumagapos sa bawat taludturan
Sa nakakulong na kalungkutan
Talinhagang di mabatid
Ng mga bersong pinid
Tumagas sa mga tayutay nito ang tinta
Sa bawat sonetong naiobra
At ang mapanlinlang na pag-ibig ng bawat prosa
Ay nilukob ng kapangyarihan ng metapora….
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.