Poems by Aloysius Gonzaga

The Avowal
— To Dominique I. Akpan
 
The steadfastness of an aspirer
is at times supported or reinforced
neither by personal strength nor the desire
to stay unwavering or for victory,
but by the thought of those cherished encouragers—
waiting
on tenterhooks not to be let down.

 
 
 
Cells, Bones and Tissues
 
You were thinking:
Who he to offer counsel? —Boorish he
for concluding I may be living recklessly!
Your thoughts, if converted into words,
the ending five choked you almost. But
that wasn’t all, for you afterwards felt
your reflections may have served food
for thought. Except you are so hesitant,
plus pompously obstinate.
It is – however – simple:
I will run from this hazardous venture that
borrowed your cells, bones and tissues.

 
 
 

Her Restless Mouth
 
his eardrums at first reeled,
disagreed, then
rebuked,
and after a dozen months of
failed attempts to
refuse to accept or adapt,
finally began to lose sensation.
 

now stuck and
haunted by menacing memories
of his own past melancholic days—
the very reason he now loathed
solitude;
he wished there were a third choice—
certain he would soon be charged
with her murder
as her restless mouth went on to
sputter more abuse and provocation.