Clyde Cyruz Alcaraz is the author of Lagi’t Laging Ligalig, an essay collection published under 8Letters Publishing. Some of his works have also appeared in Mountain Beacon. He is a former educator and a graduate of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where he earned his degree in BSE English.
I wrote the poem after watching how easily we trade critical thinking for a comforting strongman. I was inspired by the talent for mistaking volume for virtue and calling it faith.
I wrote the second poem out of a quiet fury. Every line is a refusal to accept that grief should be this ordinary.