Verna Zafra-Kasala, The Philippines-Guåhan (Guam)
Beasts greet the earth with
hungry mouths, and the dust
collects on their tongues.
The ground has forgotten
the taste of rain, the smell
of air before the thunder’s
first glorious crack.
What grows here knows
only smoke and
perdition.
Singed leaves curl
inward like tiny black
fists, shake perilously
in every updraft, look
for those to return home,
but who will come when
home is no longer habitable?
Verna Zafra-Kasala was born in the Philippines but was raised and still lives in the Pacific island of Guam. She teaches English Composition and Critical Thinking classes at the University of Guam. Her work has appeared in Tayo Literary Magazine, Hawai'i Review, and Minerva Rising, among others.
