The Sociology of the Body
By Alton Melvar M Dapanas

[A]nalyse humans as embodied persons..

        — Thomas W Laquer


Know my makeshift truths:
Finding you in these ruined landscape
Is like igniting the embers back to flames.
Elsewhere, a scent repeats your shadow;
Your absence echoes your thoughts.
What is this smell?, I once asked you.
That’s dried floor wax, you muttered
With cigarette, once soaked in vodka,
in your mouth; those homes long gone.
Already you have caused my downfall.

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Alton Melvar M Dapanas, a queer poet of color from the Philippines, writes in English and Visayan. His poems have been published in Dagmay Literary Journal, Kabisdak Cebuano Literary Lighthouse, Lost Beat Poetry, Words Myth, and Haggard and Halloo. He is anthologised in Sakayang Papel: An Anthology of Bisaya Poetry. Currently, he works as a travel and lifestyle writer for a media conglomerate and blogs for a global NGO. Aside from being a product of writer’s workshops, he is also affiliated with Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC) and Bathalad Mindanao. He has a thing for gray morning skies, awkward moments, and flavored beers.