By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE darkness has always been a friend, and before dawn each morning, I listen to the silence. At this time, it is in the silence that I am able to connect with all the scattered pieces of me, and become a part of the larger…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I never intended to officially publish the poem Spillway which I wrote in 2015. I sent the poem to Marian Eikelhof of the Foundation Literary International, upon her request to write about “love”. A month after, I received this notification: Thank you for your wonderful…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THERE are days when I have no dreams. There are days when I knew I had a dream but couldn’t remember. These days, I dream a lot, and remember every detail, almost. The memory of a dream is very vivid upon waking up, so I…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   FOR the first time after more than four decades, Aloc met with my siblings who came mostly from Metro Manila to celebrate four October events in our ancestral house and the arrival of my brother Rod and Tilet from the US. October is a most…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN the comfort of the dining room, my imagination takes flight. I become the pilot I wanted to be, guided by the aroma of ground coffee beans. I look at the sky and become one with the stars, in communion with beings I haven’t seen,…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   COME alive, please bring me to the hill where you used to caress my hair sing me La Mer in baritone, in between shots of gin, in your cherished old-fashioned cocktail glass again, and again tell me again, about Poro Point the flickering lights in…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   FOR whatever reason, the Philippine government, along with 44 other countries abstained in the UNGA vote calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza. An overwhelming majority of 120 countries voted in favor of the resolution, with 14 against (led by Israel and the US). The…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   AFTER a year, I’m happy that the adjacent vacant lot, which used to be a garbage dump, has now become an urban food forest. Anyone passing can pick chili, talinum (waterleaf), ternate (butterfly pea), palyan balang (wild bitter gourd), kamote (sweet potato), malunggay (moringga), mulberries…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN a blink, my suitcase was gone my passport, my documents my formal shoes, my camera gifts I bought for my friends, my lipstick I lost everything the police took my statement making me repeat my family name, spelling every letter “P as in property,…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN a dream, I found myself among a throng of people at a party. In that dream, my sister Emma was gifted with a box of birds. Most of the birds were small, the size of maya birds (tree sparrows). Some birds were the size…