War Dove

by Troy Cabida

‘This debut is a battle cry for our past and future selves, a serenade finding pleasure in the things that fight back.’ R. A. Villanueva

‘There are lines that make you pause and think, and lines that shatter with the brilliance of quartz.’ Romalyn Ante

Troy Cabida’s War Dove is a story of profound growth, of growing into oneself, of knowing tenderness, not as a skin to be sloughed on the way to maturity but a central muscle beating vital strength into the body. Cabida’s poetry refracts mental and emotional wellbeing through a kaleidoscope of cultural identities. This dove learns to soar and sway, heal and harden like ‘honey / crystallised and unflinching’.

Genres: Poetry

27 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2020

About the author

Troy Cabida is the author of the poetry books Neon Manila (2025), Symmetric of Bone (2024), and War Dove (2020).

He is a poet, writer, co-editor for fourteen poems, producer for open mic night Poetry and Shaah, and library assistant for the National Poetry Library.

Reviews

[Jasmine Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was so fantastic to speak to Troy and learn about his writing process. The way that he intersperses his own lived experiences of being Filipino and queer into his poetry, which is beautiful and understated, shines through in this anthology.

[Realms of Magic Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so real! Even though I am not a big fan of poetry this devoured me from the first page and I had to finish it in one go. The writing is so real, is so everyday strangles that you feel like Cabida knows you and the book is about you, even though is not. Is not the typical poetry book with verses but is like you are reading the journal of someone written in a more sophisticated way. Well done to this young poet. Hope our world has more of these people around.

[Sheetal Martine Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tender, fierce revelations of intersectional identity - of being poc, queer and finding healing