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| Cartoon by Eoin Kelleher |
You heart is telling you
Billions of people need this planet, too
Countless animal and plant lives
Live on this planet, too
Your brain is telling you
The desire to join an I.Q. contest
Expired 60 years ago
Your pancreas is telling you
Be compassionate
Your kidneys are telling you
You’re septuagenarian already,
Be humble
Your liver is telling you, be kind
Your blood pressure is telling you
Be understanding
Your future gout and rheumatoid arthritis
If you still don’t have them
Are telling you
It’s okay to kneel
Like it’s okay to be black
Your arterial plaques are telling you
Don’t block the entry of homeless people
People fleeing political persecutions
People who risk their lives
To hold on to dear life
You may drive away people
But you can’t change the course
Of your blood —it will burst
Through a blockage
Even if you don’t like it
Jonel Abellanosa resides in Cebu City, the Philippines. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Rattle, Anglican Theological Review, Poetry Kanto, Filipino-American Artist Directory, The McNeese Review and GNU Journal. Early in 2017 Alien Buddha Press published his third chapbook Meditations. His latest poetry collection Songs from My Mind’s Tree is forthcoming (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, New York). He is a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and Dwarf Stars Award nominee. A number of his poems have appeared in TheNewVerse.News.