Poem | Papa's Morning

 Papa's Morning

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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I woke up at five in the morning

before the breaking dawn, silently walking

down the hallways toward the shadowed kitchen

Flicking the light switch to bring in

warm glow and heat the water for my coffee

Bringing out the cooking pan to cook

fried rice and eggs and bacon

Poem | Makeup

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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No need to wax that beard. It's too fine.

Put on red lipstick instead and smack your lips together.

That foundation can cover those black and whiteheads,

Make sure it's the correct shade, okay?

You wouldn't enjoy a white face like Mulan's.

Short Story | With You Is My Safe Place

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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    Nubsib pushes Hamina to the ground, and she looks up at his smug face. Hamina grits her teeth hearing it crunch, like corn in a stone grinder, and she tries to keep her composure even when she feels the scratches on her elbows sting. At five-year-old, the eight-year-old cousins, Nubsib and Aun, look bigger from the ground - even though in truth, they're only about six to seven inches taller than her. In the back of her mind, Hamina remembers telling her mother that "I'm not short and I'm taller than any other girls my age, mama," and that's the truth.