We are happy to announce that six poets have been shortlisted for Cha‘s “Addiction” Poetry Contest. The results will be announced in Issue 33 of the journal, due out in late September 2016. [See other shortlisted poems.]

Gerald Dicen’s “Re-apparition”

GERALD ON “RE-APPARITION”

The first version of my poem “Re-apparition” was comprised of three long stanzas. The idea of it was conceived when I woke up one morning to the sound of a fluttering sparrow. Its delicate wing vibrating against the glass window of my room created a sound so pleasant it resonated an unfamiliar feeling in me—a lightness, perhaps. For me, the term ‘addiction’ is a simplification of a rather complex system of circumstances and choices. Its origins can be unknown to a person, hence, an apparition. The poem is a story of the way I dealt with my personal addictions. I put them in a box, study them, “cage” them. But most importantly, I first try hard to live with them… until they reappear as something else.

ABOUT GERALD

Gerald Dicen spent most of his academic life in Dumaguete City, Philippines. He finished his BA in physics in Silliman University and is currently pursuing his graduate studies in environmental science in Ateneo de Manila University. He considers himself one of those people who don’t see science and the arts as opposites of the reality spectrum, and he continues to develop his skills in both. While he had worked as an online freelance writer, “Re-apparition” is his first published poem.