Joana Austria, 21, is a senior Communication Arts student at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Joana Austria

---

Page 1 | 2

Morning Drizzle

I turn the rusty knob on with all my morning energy
and the heavy raindrops shock me

It gives me chills and colds,
freezing and numbing
but I stand there
naked—
soaking all it has to pour

I lather myself in suds and sadness
fizz and frowns
mousse and misery—
vulnerably,
then wrap myself in isolation

I let it pour once more
to unwrap myself from drowning and suffocation
revealing my nakedness
again and again