Karina Lagdameo-Santillan

To Father This morning, As the clouds move soundlessly across the sky I stand up to honor your constancy Ground of my existence. In my belly, father lives Through him, the patriarchs speak. They utter, wordlessly of the constancy Engraved…

A black canopy drizzled with stars A blanket warm and cozy, over me I collect all of me, into my heart Gather stars, red flowers Ferns and round pebbles I build a garden inside of me There where I live…

  Thank you to the soft winds That caresses, down to my limbs.   Thank you for the gentle peace That flows like a cooling breeze.   Thank you for this breakthrough That’s good for me, from you.   You…

  I can see the sky getting darker I can hear the gods playing with thunder I can see the wind blowing stronger I can hear the cats meowling, dogs barking harder.   I can feel you when you smile…

At the beach is An ocean of time.   Where to discover anew, leafy shapes Clear against the blue of the sky. Sun’s rays, glittering down Diamonds upon the crests of waves. The texture of tree trunks Brush scored and…

Everything comes and goes Everything is transitory and provisional In this temporal time and space, we all live in.   But there are some things that come That transcends this time and space That come from the sacred, from that…

    This is for all, for all Silenced by circumstance. Inner vocal chords cut off By the exigencies of these times. Voices strangled, joy mangled By the suffocating fumes of poisoned air.   This is for all Not content with a…

An exuberant, bursting orange sun against a blue sky hovering over a row of tiny hills and fields. Benguet blooming with the vibrant colors of the sunflower. A lush landscape beckoning towards the orange sun sending out sunshine rays as…

To hear the kulintang, gongs, and drums play is enough to connect you and me to our Muslim brothers and sisters living in Mindanao. To see and hear their heartfelt stories of what happened during the Mindanao war, in song…

But just falling in love is not enough. For peace to ensue, a call is urgently needed. To call for an end to all wars and all forms of violence, the first World March for Peace and Non-violence took place on…