I’m a Filipina poet, novelist, book editor, songwriter, producer, screenwriter, and playwright currently living in Chicago, Illinois.
A Play on Words
The blog title “Rampant and Golden” was a phrase lifted from Nick Bantock’s novel Morning Star, Book 6 in the Griffin and Sabine series.
Books:
Rampant and Golden (compiled poems), February 2018
Hand Painted (compiled poems), February 2018
Cognac for the Soul (compiled poems), September 2012
Beautiful Fever (compiled poems), September 2012
181 Dreams: Heart, Hope and Healing (collected biographies, commissioned work), May 2010
The Espresso Effect (novel), September 2010
Writing Credits for Film:
Original story and original screenplay for “Dream Home” (2022), INCinema Production
Original story and original screenplay for “A Fork in the Road” (2021), INCinema Production, Best Screenplay at the 2021 INCinema Awards
Member of the writing team for “Influence” (2020), INCinema Production
Original story and original screenplay for “Sons and Brothers” (2018), INCinema Production, 2nd Place Best Film at the 2018 International EVM Awards
Original story and original screenplay for “Please Take One” (2017), INCinema Production
Writing Credits for Theater:
A reading of my poem “Shoot the Vagina” was included in the 20th anniversary celebration of The Vagina Monologues at Cafe de Paris in London in September 2018.
Recordings of performances of three of my poems, “Soul Arson”, “Trauma is a Shallow Grave”, and “No Help in Sight for 33 Miles” will also be part of a forthcoming exhibition of The Silenced Museum in London.
Wrote the one-act play “My Favorite Gift” for the District of Northern Midwest’s entry to INCenterStage in 2019.
Other Published Work:
Impunity is Illusion (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), July 2020
Across Louisville (poem)
Benevolence ↯ Omnipotence (poem)
– Harpy Hybrid Review, Summer 2020
Second Wanderlust (poem)
– Dragonfly Magazine, Spring 2020
I Stand with you, under the Colors (poem)
The Horizon through Bonfire Haze (poem)
– The Philippines Graphic (Manila), October 2019
Chrysalis (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), September/October 2019
Shades of Fall (poem)
Macramé (poem)
– CultureCult Magazine (Kolkata, India), Monsoon 2019
Seasonal Ambrosia (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), July/August 2019
Verses for the Early Sunset (poem)
Ex Libris (poem)
The Vagrants inside my Head (poem)
– CultureCult Magazine (Kolkata, India), Summer 2019
Finding Spring (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), March/April 2019
Impunity is Illusion (poem)
Marked by the Sepent (poem)
Breaths of Shadows (poem)
– Fearsome Critters: A Millennial Arts Journal, GreenTower Press, Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville, MO), March 2019
Pan, Before he could Fly (poem)
– Bold + Italic (Purnia, India), March 2019
Restoring a Stradivarius (poem)
Lovable at First Sight (poem)
– Women Speak (art exhibition with painter Nancy Smith), Frank Gallery (Chapel Hill, NC), March 2019
All the Chances you were Meant to Miss (poem)
– Epiphanies and Late Realizations of Love, Transcendent Zero Press (Houston, TX), February 2019
Love Me Vintage (poem)
My Favorite Miracle (poem)
Worshipping at the Ruins of her Temple (poem)
– Prachya Review (Dhaka/Chittagong, Bangladesh), December 2018
The Waterfall I Hear When I Sleep (poem)
Everyday Iridescence (poem)
Suburban Soliloquy (poem)
Persephone in Gucci Sandals (poem)
Sienna Red, Petals on Concrete (poem)
– Petrichor in Print (Ontario, Canada), December 2018
Devotion, Illumination (poem)
– Envision Arts Magazine (Denton, TX), December 2018
Peaches (poem)
– Shaking the Sheets Magazine (Toronto, Canada), December 2018
My Second City (poem)
– Inquietudes Literary Journal: Heimat, October 2018
See you at Seafood City (poem)
Daughter of the Diaspora (poem)
– Longing for Home, Tender Hands Press (Manchester, UK), October 2018
Self-Love in the Pitch Black (poem)
A Habit of Crafting Suns (poem)
Double Shadow (poem)
Housewife, Half-Empty (poem)
– Mothering under Duress, Rag Zine (Berkeley, CA), October 2018
Being Here (poem)
Poison of Choice (poem)
They Signed their Fake Names in Cheap Ink (poem)
– Harbinger Asylum, Transcendental Zero Press (Houston, TX), Fall 2018
Double Shadow (poem)
{ x | f'(x) does not exist } (poem)
– The Broken Cassette (New Delhi, India), October 2018
Mermaid Heart (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), September/October 2018
“Shoot the Vagina” (poem)
Speak and it shall be Dawn (poem)
– The Philippines Graphic (Manila), September 2018
Bus through Dubuque, IA (poem)
– Barren Magazine (Kalamazoo, MI), September 2018
Trauma is a Shallow Grave (poem)
– Exhume Literary Magazine (Milledgeville, GA), August 2018
Enkindling the Astronomer (poem)
On the Banks of the Rubicon at Dawn (poem)
Magdalene (poem)
Resilience (poem)
Pilgrim for a Day (poem)
– Credo Espoir, August 2018
The Faint Pulse (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), July/August 2018
Silhouettes from a More Intricate Light (poem)
– Riddled with Arrows (Newark, DE), Summer 2018
Apartment for Rent (poem)
Saudade for Starry Nights and Ivy (poem)
– The Brown Orient (Philippines/India), 2018
The Golden Mean (poem)
Softened by Shadows, Dusted in Gold (poem)
– A Walk with Nature: Poetic Encounters that Nourish the Soul, University Professors Press (Monument, CO), 2018
The Whispered Desert of Almosts (poem)
– Former People, June 2018
Runaway Siren Come Home (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), May/June 2018
The Sun Rises on Rapid City 4/22 (poem)
– Ancient Paths Literary Magazine (Dallas, TX), May 2018
Sacred Message, Rough Translation (poem)
– Fearsome Critters: A Millennial Arts Journal, GreenTower Press, Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville, MO), April 2018
Why Poets Need to Travel (poem)
– Riddled with Arrows (Newark, DE), Spring 2018
Come Home Every Time You Can (poem)
– Indian River Review, Indian River State College (Fort Pierce, FL), Spring 2018
Through the Glass, Gracefully (poem)
The Place where all the Important Questions Gather (poem)
– A Gypsy’s Library (Miami, FL), March 2018
Phoenix Sighting (poem)
Solar Heiress, Lunar Bride (poem)
Righteous Indignation and her Long, Dark Hair (poem)
– Praxis Magazine (Nigeria), March 2018
The Young and Eccentric Sun (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), March 2018
Pain becomes Parable (poem)
– Radical, from Investing in Women (San Diego, CA), February 2018
Nights of Tokhang (poem)
4th of July 2017, Chicago (poem)
– Bosphorus Review (Istanbul, Turkey), January 2018
December in Cambridge (poem)
The Design in which we Intertwine (poem)
Connoisseuse (poem)
The Place where all the Important Questions Gather (poem)
Red Wine Stains on the Edges of Things (poem)
And this must be what all those poets are talking about. (poem)
– Wordsmith, published by Numidia (Constantine, Algeria), January 2018
If God was a Poet (poem)
Ajar (poem)
Breaths of Shadows (poem)
Azure and Softly Spoken (poem)
Moon Spell (poem)
Heartblur (poem)
The Heart of Impulse is Gravity (poem)
Prelude to Dream (poem)
– Infinity Anthology from Sahitya Anand, Vishwabharati Research Centre (Latur, Maharashtra, India), 2018
Stay for the Fireworks (poem)
To Arrive, To Occupy (poem)
– The Philippines Graphic (Manila), January 2018
Where the Light Hits the Water (poem)
Silken and Mauve (poem)
– Spillwords Press (Gdánsk, Pomerania, Poland), January 2018
“Black Friday might affect these hours.” (poem)
Complex Fractions (poem)
– International Journal of Modern Poetry, an online literary magazine (Santa Barbara, CA), January 2018
Speak And It Shall Be Dawn (poem)
– Spillwords Press (Gdánsk, Pomerania, Poland), December 2017
Righteous Indignation and her Long, Dark Hair (poem)
The Riots against Forgetting (poem)
Hands over the Atlantic (poem)
– Unlikely Stories Mark V, December 2017
Runaway Siren Come Home (poem)
– 365 Wonders 2018 Planner (featured in the month of January), Woman, Create (Manila, Philippines), November 2017
Postpartum (poem)
– The Perch Magazine, Yale University School of Medicine, Program for Recovery and Community Health (New Haven, CT), Fall 2017
The Choice to Remain in Disrepair (poem)
Soul Arson (poem)
– Memoryhouse Magazine, University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Fall 2017
Remembering (poem)
The Soul’s Changing of the Guards (poem)
– Advaitam Speaks Literary Journal (New Delhi, India), October 2017
Woman, Ground Zero (poem)
Outcast of my Own Skin (poem)
With your Permission (poem)
Unfinished Epitaph (poem)
Just Another Fallen Leaf (poem)
– Anti-Heroin Chic, an online magazine for music and literature, October 2017
Ars Amatoria and Passion Tea (poem)
– Best Emerging Poets in Illinois, Z Publishing (Racine, WI), August 2017
A Skillet of Suns and Oceans (poem)
– Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology, Belt Publishing (Chicago, IL), August 2017
Chance, and the Trajectory of Light (poem)
– Creu Publication (Cardiff, Wales, UK), August 2017
The Physics of Shadows (poem)
Springtime in the South Side (poem)
Rain Hypnosis (poem)
The Nautical Miles to Home (poem)
A View of the Sun from Underwater (poem)
Abstract Sky in #8f3d4b (poem)
At the Seams (poem)
Nimbus Theater (poem)
Broken Mirror (poem)
– Rigorous Magazine (New Orleans, LA), July 2017
Day 41 (poem)
– The Paragon Journal (Middleton, PA), July 2017
Estranged Children of Storms (poem)
What the Moon Promised the Firelight (poem)
Asymmetrical Hummingbird (poem)
Broken Alabaster (poem)
– Anapest Journal (Staunton, VA), July 2017
Exponents and Ephemera (poem)
– Creu Publication (Cardiff, Wales, UK), July 2017
Beacon (poem)
– Advaitam Speaks Literary Journal (New Delhi, India), July 2017
Retiring the Geisha (poem)
Why Poets Need to Travel (poem)
Watching Ships (poem)
The Last Rendezvous (poem)
Turning Stones at Low Tide (poem)
– The Blue Nib Literary Magazine (Waterford, Ireland), July 2017
Mizuage (水揚げ) (poem)
Still Life, Charcoal (poem)
No Help in Sight for 33 Miles (poem)
Sacred Message, Rough Translation (poem)
Beacon (poem)
– The Blue Nib Literary Magazine (Waterford, Ireland), June 2017
Signed, Lois Lane (poem)
– The Good Men Project (Pasadena, CA), June 2017
The Prosaic Rorschach (poem)
– The Corvus Review (Milwaukee, WI), Spring/Summer 2017
Slow Dancing with San Francisco (poem)
– Spillwords Press (Gdánsk, Pomerania, Poland), May 2017
The Past Lives of Stars (poem)
– Journal of Modern Poetry 20: The Poetry Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy, Chicago Poetry Press (Chicago, IL), Spring 2017
Chaste Octaves (poem)
PS. Now Look at the Stars (poem)
– Spillwords Press (Gdánsk, Pomerania, Poland), April 2017
Ballast (poem)
Equinox (poem)
Salt and Aquamarine (poem)
Tricks of Transcendence (poem)
Bequests from the Departed Light (poem)
– Forever Journal, Poetic Matrix Press (Madera, CA), January 2017
A Trail of Ash from Sitio Han-ayan (poem)
16 Silences (poem)
– Journal of Modern Poetry 19: Poetry of Protest, Chicago Poetry Press (Chicago, IL), Spring 2016
Though my Shield is Cracked and my Armor Sundered (poem)
– The Voices Project (Denver, CO), September 2016
Among the City’s Bright Lights (poem)
– The Voices Project (Denver, CO), May 2016
Sleepwalking on Session Road (poem)
– Zau Literary Magazine (Karachi, Pakistan), March 2016
Hers (poem)
Passion by Mandelbrot (poem)
Love me Vintage (poem)
A Walk on Pont des Arts (poem)
Before Mythology Gave them Names (poem)
– The Philippines Graphic (Manila), 2016
Memories of Station One (poem)
The Crossover to Miniloc Island (poem)
At the Corner of Maria Clara and Dimasalang (poem)
Life Metaphors on the 6 a.m. Train (poem)
– Anak Sastra: Stories for Southeast Asia (Indonesia), July 2015
The Evening Summer and I Traded Places (poem)
– Off the Coast, Resolute Bear Press (Robbinston, ME), Spring 2015
Skinny Dipping in Cassiopeia (poem)
– Journal of Modern Poetry 18: The Official Poets’ Guide to Peace, Chicago Poetry Press (Chicago, IL), Spring 2015
A Trade for your Album of Selfies (poem)
– S/tick: Feminists on Guard (Alberta, Canada), April 2015
Six-Lane Catwalk (poem)
– Journal of Modern Poetry 17, Chicago Poetry Press (Chicago, IL), Spring 2014
– Honorable Mention, Contemporary American Poetry Prize 2014
The Decryption Key Can’t Be Used Twice (poem)
Details that the Light might have Missed (poem)
– Kalyani Magazine (Brooklyn, NY), Spring 2014
Ardent Streetscape (poem)
– the Make It Makati campaign, March 2012
On a Night Like This (poem)
Natural Death (poem)
Lunar Eclipse (poem)
– Nexxus: Take It To The Street Poetry Magazine (Tampa, FL), February 2012
Let Yourself Go (poem)
Poison and Daggers (poem)
La Bella Figura (poem)
– Decanto Magazine, Masque Publishing (Littlehampton, England), August 2011
Mind Sex (poem)
– Poetic License at Morning Erection (Indianapolis, IN), June 2011
2nd through 11th (poem)
– Mad Swirl Poetry Forum (Dallas, TX), March 2011
I Found You (poem)
– Decanto Magazine, Masque Publishing (Littlehampton, England), February 2011
So (poem)
– Poetic License at Morning Erection (Indianapolis, IN), January 2011
How Long I Loved You (poem)
– E.Ratio Postmodern Poetry (New York, NY), January 2011
Curiosity for Destruction (poem)
Sometimes Silence (poem)
– The Exercise Bowler Literary Review (Sarasota, FL), December 2010
Fearless (poem)
– Mad Swirl Poetry Forum (Dallas, TX), October 2010
– Haggard and Halloo Publications (Austin, TX), October 2010
Use Me (poem)
– Honoring Poetic Society Magazine (Houston, TX), September 2010
Letter to a Graduating Student (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), April 2008
To the Anti Online Dating Columnist: A Retaliation (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), 2005
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), 2005
Jessica Zafra VS Bob Ong: Ang Sarcastic Intellectual at ang Batang Kalye (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), 2004
Things that Lovers Do (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), 2003
Queer Culture Shock: On Gay Men in the Teaching Profession (essay)
– Peyups (Manila), 2003
Star-Strangled
– Peyups (Manila), 2002
Poison Kills from Within: On the Indifference of the Filipino (essay)
-Peyups (Manila), 2002
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Awards and Nominations:
.
They Signed their Fake Names in Cheap Ink (poem)
– Nominated, Pushchart Prize, 2018
Silhouettes from a More Intricate Light (poem)
– Nominated, Orison Award for Poetry, 2018
Six-Lane Catwalk (poem)
– Honorable Mention, Contemporary American Poetry Prize, 2014
.
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All the poems that appear on this blog are linked and arranged chronologically here.
Rampant & Golden 
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