Poet Profile

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz was born in the Philippines. He is currently a full-time Professor of English at Far Eastern University Alabang. He has lived and worked as an English teacher in the U.S., Japan, and the Maldives. His early poems were published in The Philippine Graphic. More recently, his poems have appeared in several journals, namely Wales Haiku Journal, Failed Haiku, and Kingfisher Journal. He lives in Metro Manila, Philippines.

Awards and Other Honors:

2nd Place, Haiku Society of America Senryu Award in Memory of Gerald Brady 2021; 2nd Place, Katikati International Haiku Contest 2021; Honorable Mention, H. Gene Murtha Senryu Award 2021; Honorable Mention, Pula International Haiku Competition 2021

Books Published:

Sunsets Are Sonnets and Other Poems - Central Books Publishing, 2020; Breaking Ground Through English - Ephesians Publishing, 2015; Written on Water: Haiku & Watercolor Through the Seasons - Central Book Supply, Inc. December 2021; Sunsets Are Sonnets & Other Poems - Central Book Supply, Inc., December 2020.

side view mirror
you and I closer
than we appear

in the cold of night
a stranger passes by
daffodils in winter

ultrasound test
finally someone sees
deep inside me

shot glass
another wasted 
pickup line

empty well
only the echo
of a falling leaf

seeing things
your way
summer clouds

Credits:

“side view mirror” - Frogpond vol. 44.3, Autumn 2021; “in the cold of night” - Modern Haiku vol. 52:3, Autumn 2021; “ultrasound test” - Presence Issue 71, November 2021; “shot glass” - Prune Juice Issue #35, November 2021; “empty well” - Cold Moon Journal, November 30, 2021; “seeing things” - The Mainichi, December 7, 2021.