1. Share with us your favourite poem you've written
Oh, I have a loooot and it makes choosing between them hard. ;-;
First on that list, and what's got to be my most favorite poem out of the 450+ I've written, is the one that's called Sand Castles, Falling Waves. This poem talks about a love that failed and the persona is now realizing the reason why. It's the kind to slapp your intestines even though you don't have an experience remotely close to that. What can I say? I'm an expert in that.
The second is a poem titled Paradise. This poem just came running to me, especially those last two lines. Contrary to the first poem, it's lighthearted and totally a simp poem. I don't write purely sad stuff, okay?
The third is a poem called Tell Me Something. I have to be honest—I quite forgot about this poem for a while. It was only until I cleaned my school things pre-pandemic when I stumbled upon this. Apparently, it was written during my hectic weeks of face-to-face uni back when I was a freshman. Anyway, this poem talks about our tendency to find enough reason to stay even though the relationship/circumstance is already unfavourable. Very sad.
The fourth is a poem called where we stand. This is the titular poem of the collection as well. I wrote this for a specific someone in mind (contrary to all the other simp poems that will remain with no recipients/attributions) and well, it still slapps. To be loved like that, to be chosen everyday, and to be met at the present, it's the best kind of love. uwu.
The fifth is a poem called subway. It's from my failed stint at Instagram poetry and now lives on a collection called it only hurts when i laugh. It's also a simp poem and I wrote it somewhere around midnight.
And is it possible to have a whole collection as a favourite? If so, the prize's going to go to Soft Clouds, Crystal Skies. This collection, albeit being put on hold as I worked on my genre fiction stuff, is just golden. There's not one poem I hated in there and that's saying something since I hated everything I do. xD
2. What are three words that you'd describe your writing?
My poetry and my genre fiction writing are two, wildly different things.
Relatable, raw, and true. These are the three words to describe my poetry. I've had people tell me they literally could feel the emotion come off the page (or screen, whatever) so I think these three are spot-on.
My genre fiction would probably be described as unpredictable, crazy, and emotional damage. Those are technically four words but yeah.
3. What language do you write your poetry in?
I write in mainly English, but recently I've been working to write more poems in my native language, Filipino, because I wanted to develop my prose in that language as well. I'm planning on adding a third language but, to do that, I need to get a hang of the vocabulary and grammar, first. xD
4. How would you describe poetry?
I'm trying to think of something...well, poetic to say, and totally failing at it. lol. But for me, I guess, poetry is emotions. They are words better left unsaid but are dying to be said anyway. They're salvation, ruin, and freedom—all at once.
5. What are some of your favourite poems?
That'll be The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. It's got to be one of the only poems I understood and related to. Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas is also good. I was told I write like him and I'm just like mindblown.
The poetry of Sylvia Plath are also good, and I think I fell in love with her when people told me I write like her even though I've never encountered their work before. Emily Dickinson is also one of my faves because of the sheer intestine-slapp poems she wrote. ;-;
6. What are some other genres you like to write in?
Hands down, Fantasy will always be my go-to. But, after quite a few years of writing genre fiction, I've wandered into Adventure, Romance, Contemporary Fiction, and Historical Fiction. And I'm planning on adding more! I like to be versatile and my ideas are not going to be ending soon.
7. What gives you inspiration to write?
Just the fact that everyday life is very frightening and something I can't ever control. Writing is a form of escape and wish-fulfilment for me, especially genre fiction because in my own worlds, I am in control and I can do what I want in it. Escaping into it is what I look forward to when it comes to writing.
On a less serious (and quite possibly less existential) note, I get inspiration to write because my ideas are not rearing their ugly heads back any time soon. I'm actually ending up with more stuff to write faster than I can catch up with my queue and I already write like the devil will eat my soul in a few hours. (Hyperbole not quite hyperbole-ing. I'm serious when I say I write fast.) And yeah, writing also gives me avenues to practise my graphic designing skills as well, so I write stuff so I can show people the gorgeous covers and get validation. lol.
For poetry, nothing really inspires me more than how sucky a certain day has been for me. Poetry has its uses for me, and that is either release, processing, or experimenting. I actually used poetry to get in touch with my emotions and try to describe them better. Writing poetry also played a part in my getting a hang of my own flow, my own voice, and the general concept of word choices and syntax usage. These skills helped me greatly in my prose when I was trying to find my authorial voice. (For those looking to develop these skills, wink,wink you know what to do now.)
8. What is a time period (in reference to writing) would you like to visit?
I'd go back to the time when there were no humans. I always wonder what it would look like when it was just nature and stuff. Might be interesting. (Besides, we don't talk about how much I'm so done with humanity in general. lol.)
9. If you could meet one poet, dead or alive, who would it be?
That'll be Pierra Calasanz-Labrador. She's a Filipino contemporary poet and I adore her poetry.
Thank you Exequinne for letting us interview you!
You can check out their works at:
accidentallysof - poetry account
Exequinne - genre fiction account
