Carabao

by Dawn Angelicca Barcelona

when polyembryonic siblings fall so far from their tree
i choose the sweetest mango delicately resting
until the ants or flies or i come to feast

as i slice through almost grazing the pit
i nearly scratch the heart of this fruit
i inspect the fiber and pull threads out with my teeth

my first mango was sun-dried
emboldened with Manila sunshine and boxed up
like childhood memories in an attic

we trade toys for the taste of sunshine
i visit an eternal summer in my sleep
in my dreams i melt into this flesh

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Dawn Angelicca Barcelona is a Filipina-American poet based in San Francisco, originally from NJ. She was a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Grantee to South Korea. Her work can be seen in Quiet Lightning, Killing the Angel, Fulbright Korea Infusion, work to a calm, and In Between Hangovers. She volunteers with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is a curator for Kearny Street Workshop's annual APAture Festival.