Karlo Sevilla – Fevers of the Mind

Poetry: Lost Satellite by Karlo Sevilla

Lost Satellite

Unmanned, unmoored,
and floating along 
a forgotten orbit
against its will of steel.
Alone in the cosmic cold, 
corroding in outer space.
Though now only accountable 
to itself and no one else,  
it has chosen to remain
true to its mission:
observe the majestic Earth; 
the entirety of her blue sphere.
 
This is how I am at times: 
Contemplating the vastness 
of our distance
and the planetary space 
you occupy outside 
and inside of me.
Only by inviolable
laws of physics 
do I keep moving,
but oh so slowly.
And it’s solely the heat 
of my heart that sustains me.
I’m perfectly okay
with its constant warmth,
but what do I do
with its longing?



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.

Beauty and the Laundry: poetry by Karlo Sevilla

*with a nod to James Tate’s At the Clothesline*

Beauty and the Laundry

This early morning wind is palpable as my fear.
But I also desire it to be visible,
to become flesh
And that’s why I’m grateful
for the light laundry hanging
faithfully on the clothesline.
God breathes and the pink socks,
green pajamas, and white lingerie
wave in unison as welcome banners
to give form and color to the current.

Likewise, I yearn for beauty
to become more than a concept,
to become embodied,
to become.

Then, you walk across the lawn,
back into our door with the emptied basket
still wet and cold in your bronze arms’ embrace;
your black hair unwinds, along with our clothes
that drip and dance in the background;
upon your face the softest smile breaks,
rises, with the new dawn.

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

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.

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

3 brown and white birds on brown wooden surface

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

A poem “Blood-close” by Karlo Sevilla

Poem by Karlo Sevilla : ‘Dear Milo’

Reyna Elenita by Karlo Sevilla (poetry)

A poem “Blood-close” by Karlo Sevilla

silhouette of trees near body of water painting

Blood-close

Beyond embrace;
this is coalescence:

The weight 
of your breaths
and pauses
I hear and bear 
more than your
whispered
words.

They are yours,
mine,
ours.

Hours pass
but don’t pass 
here.

Time is afraid 
to lose its 
hours,
minutes,
and seconds
one by one
into our oneness.

(And the universe,
all its meanings
and meanderings.)

Then, everything 
shall be
one
and
end 
with 
us.

Then, everything 
shall begin
anew. 


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.

Poem by Karlo Sevilla : ‘Dear Milo’

Dear Milo,

A few days ago, in the room,
when face to face we stood,
I asked you something
that I now can’t remember,
and even before you could answer,
at that very moment, I was surprised
at how tall you’ve grown,
as if you shot up inches overnight!
The top of your head
breaches my shoulder level.

How could I have not noticed,
when I’m with you every day?
Oh of course I did not notice,
because I’m with you every day!
That incremental growth
that stealthily holds sway!

And then secretly I sighed,
“You are slipping by.”
{Or is it I?) 



Beauty and the Laundry: poetry by Karlo Sevilla


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.