I write less
And speak
Even more
Sparsely
Of the colors
Of my soul
Too many words
They say
Tend to deceive
Too much prose
Tend to do poetry
An injustice
I sing less
And dance
Even more
Rarely
To the rhythm
Of love
Too much theater
They say
Tend to mislead
Too much panache
Tend to convey
Only the good
Yet, too, they say
In tones less shrill
That, indeed, it is
Through words, songs
Even dances
That tend to calm
Soften our hearts
And tend to uphold
Only the true
Nikki Rivera Gomez has written four books on living in Mindanao, three of which are being published by the UP Press. He lives in Davao City and hopes to inspire young writers to “write with abandon and live purposefully.”