This year,
I visited my mother’s grave,
bringing a bouquet
of white chrysanthemums.
As I stood near
her headstone,
an amorseko
furiously in bloom—
unfurling a memory
long buried:
how she kept plucking
the bead-like spikes
that clung to my socks
that day, I told her
a boy had caught my heart.
Beside the wild sprout
adorned with thorns,
the flowers I clutched
were gently
laid.
And as I stood to leave,
only then
did I catch a glimpse—
of amorseko
holding on
to the hem
of my jeans.
Lourd Greggory D. Crisol is a native of Iligan City. Some of his works have appeared in anthologies such as Libulan Vol. 2, Bisaya Magazine, and Kinaiya: Antolohiya ng mga Makabagong Tinig mula sa LGBQIA++, among others.