Luisa A. Igloria

 

Meridian

Not the palm tree on left, nor the puddle
of shadow under the mail truck with its
insignia of wings. Not the tri-

colored tips of the bird-of-paradise plant
or the bougainvillea vines next to the fence,
nor even the adobe walls in signature

flamingo. What remains is this light,
delivering its first and only letter—
who lives here is no longer

here, who once struck blind
the ivory keys behind a curtain—
practicing, practicing—

one day felt the dead
weight of the familiar.
This is what it really means

when they say that sometimes,
a kind of halo encircles the ordinary:
the seal around windows can, after all,

be broken. Heat rises above
the town and its landmarks, dispersing
over a wilderness of directions.

 


Copyright © Luisa A. Igloria, 2007.

Luisa A. Igloria is an Associate Professor at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. Originally from Baguio City in the Philippines, Luisa is an eleven-time recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in three genres (poetry, non-fiction, and short fiction)—the Philippines' highest literary distinction. She has published nine books including In the Garden of the Three Islands (Moyer Bell/Asphodel, 1995), and Trill & Mordent (WordTech Editions, 2005).