_HEIC.png)
_HEIC.png)
Juan Jocom
Barber
I sat down on a chair,
As a thin blanket wrap
around my neck.
It's supposed to protect me,
From the pieces of myself.
He asked me
"What style do you want?"
I said a life filled with beauty,
But leave an inch of chaos.
Snipped lip tips,
He buzzed, not clipped.
I closed my eyes and
Put my ears where it beats.
He turned my chair
I faced the mirror,
I said I like it,
It's just my demeanor.
Mr.Barber, what a murder,
You never do what I order.
My hair will change when I am older
I wish I can grow a little sooner.
Excoriation
There is a place that I linger
A space that not much have seen.
Where a night is of my fingers
Boring right into my skin.
My right eye has a monster,
It's been growing since fifteen,
It has its veins red in color,
Every day is the ugliest it has ever been.
I was never in control of my body,
Like how I can be the host,
But never be the party.
I was never in rule of my sanity.
Like how I can be the mind
But can never be inside of me.
Sunrise means nothing more than
another layer of skin that I peel.
Disgust and disguise,
When there are no words that can appeal.
Island Hopping
"Want to hold hands,
And stop this typical freeze?
What an island,
Another tropical breeze."
This is it,
This is the beach that I'd lie to.
But I say that
With every island that I've been to.
The sun feels good, until it burns you.
But it's the only heat that stays true.
One second, I see the blue skies,
The next second I hear thunder.
Do I have to jump into another raging sea?
When I'm too tired to even love me,
Too tired to afloat another piece.
But even the ocean has mercy on its darkest day.
Feel the feeling of white sands,
I’ll look up
And again,
I would say.
"Want to hold hands,
And stop this typical freeze?
What an island,
Another tropical breeze."
Juan Jocom is a queer Filipino immigrant writer based in Seattle. Jocom started writing short stories when he arrived in United States of America. He recently just discovered the beauty and chaos of poetry and essay writing. His works were recently featured at Hugo House’s Fight for Our Lives event, raising funds for LBGBTQ+ non-profit organizations such as Lambert House and Ingersol. Jocom is currently working on the second volume of his poetry book series titled Juanita Banana.