If I were a river--By April Mae M. Berza--Philippines

If I were a river

If I were a river, I will choose

you as my destination, to flow

like the tears of the cherubs

one summer to quench the thirst

of the vineyards.

I could hear the orchestra,

your violin laughter and your piano

smile blending harmoniously

with my heartbeat that I tried

to tie my foot to the hills

like the marriage of smell

and touch.

The pain in my chest to find

you in the arms of the sea is

a stabbing, I succumb that I feel

the sorrow travelling in my veins,

I am alone in this journey,

alone in this journey.

April Mae M. Berza is the author of Confession ng isang Bob Ong Fan (Flipside, 2014) and Berso de Berza (Charging Ram, 2012.) She is the editor of Metaphor magazine. Her poems and short stories appeared in numerous publications in the US, Canada, Romania, India, Japan, UK and the Philippines. Her poems are translated in Crimean Tatar and Filipino. Some of her poems are published in Ani, Belleville Park Pages, Liwayway, The Siren, Poetica, Calliope, Maganda, Remembering Rizal: Voices from the Diaspora, Letters to My Bully, Kalyani, Metric Conversions, The Manila Times, Contemporary Verse 2, and elsewhere. Her poem "E-Martial Law" was broadcast on IndoPacific Radio on KPFA 94.1FM/kpfa.org. She is a member of Poetic Genius Society. She lives in Taguig, Philippines.