New poem “Falling to Death by a Thousand Bumps” by Karlo Sevilla

(c) Suzi Kim – Unsplash

Falling to Death by a Thousand Bumps

Atop the mountain, you try 
to be cerebral and scientific about it:
It’s just your hormones unleashed
and running wild again;
beauty is culturally determined,
and if you belong to another culture,
in another place and time,
you’ll just shrug off those eyes and smile.

But your nerves have betrayed you:
You tremble to the core,
your otherwise steady knees buckle,
your foot slips and now it’s a free fall!

Your back smashes 
against the first protrusion
and you break your spine.

On the 500th crash down the slope,
your ribcage and pelvis
are totally crushed.

On the penultimate rock
ten feet from the bottom,
you crack whatever is left
to crack of your skull.

Next second, splat on the valley
as dust rises in a frenzy
around your mangled and profusely 
bleeding body.

Finally,

in love.

Bio: Karlo Sevilla of Quezon City, Philippines is the author of the full-length poetry collection “Metro Manila Mammal” (Soma Publishing, 2018). Recognized among the Best of Kitaab 2018 and shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition 2021, his poems appear in Philippines Graphic, Philippines Free Press, Fevers of the Mind, DIAGRAM, Black Bough Poetry, and elsewhere.
Twitter: @karlosevilla2

Website: http://karlosevillaofquezoncity.blogspot.com/2016/10/s-list-of-published-poems-all-with-links.html

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