October's Featured Poet is Ivy Alvarez, who was born in the Philippines and grew up in Tasmania, Australia. Her work is published in literary journals in the Philippines, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada, the US and online. She has two chapbooks published: Food for Humans (Melbourne: Slow Joe Crow Press, 2002) and catalogue: life as tableware (Wales: The Private Press, 2004). One of her poems was recently anthologised in Father Poems (Manila: Anvil Press). The following poems are from her manuscript, Mortal :

of gods & insects

a drift of wall dust. carcass husks, strung, juice
sucked. small wings beat slow -- slower than breath. one
thing picks through the webs. another twitches
nervelessly, invoking death, who comes, swift
electricity to one's nakedness,
gathers the threads, clicks on the loom, shears off
what is not needed

---

A Memory of Breasts

I show my mother a book of breasts. At first, she's shocked and pulls away. But then, she returns to them, and looks at the pictures on the cover. She points to one. The breasts are creamy and voluptuous, arms gloved to the elbows, crossed in front. 'I like these ones,' she says. 'They are elegant.'

---

visit

such soft stems these flowers have
the white bed foils them
the colours luminesce
my mother does not need them

her eyelids are hued by violets
the freckles on her face are the dots
disappearing down an orchid's throat
her mouth is agape, white sap
gathered at the corners

barbed wire scars at her throat
rims the neck of her white and
flowered nightdress
silver-stamened needles
stab her wrists

her left forefinger
pulses
with the life of poppies
killing her pain

water feeds down from a plastic tube

wires enclose her like roots
sucking at the earth

she gives the nurses
nightmares

get-well cards
splayed on the wall

dust and petals ring the vases
full of flowers


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Luis Francia/Pinoy Poetics Special!

To Celebrate October as Filipino American Heritage Month, Meritage Press is pleased to announce a "Two-Fer" Special. For the low price of $33.00, you can receive BOTH Luis H. Francia's poetry collection MUSEUM OF ABSENCES and PINOY POETICS , which features over 40 Filipino poets and is edited by Nick Carbo.

As MUSEUM OF ABSENCES retails for $15.00 and PINOY POETICS for $28.00, we hope you will agree that this is a great deal. And, thaaa.aaa...t's not all! Meritage Press will provide free shipping/handling costs for orders based in the U.S., normally a $3 per book value (contact us if you're overseas).

Information about Luis Francia's MUSEUM OF ABSENCES at http://meritagepress.com/museum.htm

Information about PINOY POETICS at http://meritagepress.com/pinoypoetics.htm

Deadline for this "Two-Fer" Order: October 31, 2004.

Send checks, made out to "Meritage Press" to

Eileen Tabios
Editor, Meritage Press
256 North Fork Crystal Springs Road
St. Helena, CA 94574