love is holding a sea urchin | Nikko Ander Abalos | Poetry

Description

love is holding a sea urchin is a poetry and prose collection that navigates the delicate balance between holding life’s thorns and the triumphant reclamation of the self. Nikko Ander Abalos chronicles a journey of self-healing deeply rooted in the waters of Batangas City Bay.

Interwoven with this personal recovery are the enduring life lessons of his mother, a woman whose absolute love was forged through a lifetime of physical sacrifice and survival. From her, the author inherits the pure compassion that guides his medical missions and the wisdom to navigate fierce monsoons even after her anchor is gone.

The core of her legacy is captured in the titular art of holding a sea urchin—a specific, tender method of cradling a creature of needles without being pierced by its thorns. This lesson in tenderness serves as the book’s guiding light, teaching readers how to embrace the wild and painful parts of life with a gentle grip that refuses to bleed.