For A Niece Who Just Had An Abortion Poem by RIC BASTASA

she left Ormoc
for it is such a small place for
her mind

she arrived in Cebu
that early morning

with a small pack of
clothes

she just had an abortion
and she felt so
isolated

she did not go direct
to her boarding house

she sat on one of the
benches in Fuente Circle

she cried, she is blank
as a grey sky sans the sun


she called my wife
through her phone, sobbing

'It is still very painful'

my wife listened
just listened

she knew how is it
to bleed
without stopping.