Let X be a gash in the fabric
of time that splits to show
things sixty-six million years
past. Let Y be the sea, rising
and dipping, sloshing sediment
and skeleton alike into chalk.
Let the chalk scry a spell of protection
into stone, surpassing all elixirs concocted
by modern man. Let Z be the asteroid slipping
into sleeve of space – dark tunnel
towards tomorrow distorting
history. Let our limbs bloom
poison and pollen like the first bees born into a world
without sunlight. Let what was written turn
to air – sulfur and carbonate filling the skies
for hundreds of years. Let the dinosaurs die
only after they have smashed these skyscrapers
into smithereens. Let the quake restrain
the epicenter of its desire to burst
as the universe grows larger than itself. Let sirens
find all the audible wavelengths
for sorrow. Let this small, blue world turn, tip, and swerve
beyond its predicted orbit. Let the stars misalign
in all planetary houses. Let the ghosts sigh
in Morse code and floating teacups
for another message misheard. Let predators consume
all these faulty human yearnings for money and more
time, all these things we pile up
gathering dust. Let the moon pull the ocean
to blanket these cold, barren cities. Let time skip:
favorite cassette tape on loop, vinyl melting
in a volcanic apocalypse, repeat
until the end. Let me listen
to the song of your voice in low fidelity,
warbled chorus of wishes –
ears, lips, eyes, all my bones burning
from this beating in my chest.
Alyza Taguilaso is a resident doctor training in General Surgery at Ospital ng Muntinlupa in the Philippines. Her poems have been shortlisted in the Bridport Poetry Prize and Manchester Poetry Prize. They have been published in several print and online publications, including Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, ANMLY, High Chair, Stone Telling Magazine, Philippines Free Press, and Kritika Kultura. You can find her online via wordpress (@alyzataguilastorm), instagram (@ventral), and twitter (@lalalalalalyza).
