CROOKED ARROW
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Verna Zafra-Kasala

Golgol

We learned to keep the ghosts away
Standing by the river, stripped
Down to our undergarments.
The flock of family members
Huddled together as the mamangs
Prepared a somber blend
In their half-shell bowls:


​Blood of a fowl let by
A silver-edged blade, burnt
Remains of rice stalk and bamboo,
The drops of Saint Michael
Swift-winged deliverer of departed
Souls and juniper spirits.

We bent our heads
And the mamangs poured.
The mixture dripped over us
Like wax melting off a candle,
The seal of a baptism,
A protection spell for those of us
Left on this side of the water. 

​
Verna Zafra-Kasala was born in the Philippines but was raised and still lives in the Pacific island of Guam. She earned a Creative Writing certificate from Fairfield University. Her work has appeared in Hawai’i Review and Minerva Rising, among other publications.
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  • About
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  • Bullseye
  • Issue 6
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