Translated from the Filipino by Kristine Ong Muslim


The Musician

The moment presumed to be the end
of a sightless body is also the moment

the musician draws out a guitar
from his rib. Very carefully,

he replaces the old guitar strings
with his blackest hair and opens

the eyes of his soul to
read the notes of ancient

songs that he devours quickly before
clarity finally extricates itself from vision.


A Reply to a Call to Arms

One poet declares:

“A new writing style!”

So we immediately cocked

a gun against his head, even as the wall

seemed to brace for explosive impact.

All of us applauded while shouting:

“That is art! That is art!”



Joseph de Luna Saguid’s first book of poetry, Kantilaho, was a finalist at the 10th Madrigal-Gonzales First Best Book Award. His second book of poetry, Loob, was published in 2013. He currently works as a copy director for a local television network.

Kristine Ong Muslim is the author of nine books of fiction and poetry, most recently The Drone Outside (Eibonvale Press, 2017). Her translation work appears in Poetry London, Shenandoah, and Words Without Borders. Widely anthologized, Muslim’s short stories were published in Conjunctions, Dazed Digital, and World Literature Today.