Jose Garcia Villa (1914-1997) was a Filipino poet and short story writer. He came to the United States when he was sixteen. Villa was known for his abundant use of punctuation and his experimentation with consonance and rhyme. He was often referred to as the Comma Poet because of his tendency to use numerous commas. Villa wrote about the individual person and felt that his purpose as a poet was to find "man's selfhood and identity in the mystery of Creation." Villa was considered a powerful literary influence in the Philippines even though he spent most of his life in the United States.


STEP 1: Read Villa's "Be Beautiful, Noble, Like the Antique Ant"

Be beautiful, noble, like the antique ant,
Who bore the storms as he bore the sun,
Wearing neither gown nor helmet,
though he was archbishop and soldier:
Wore only his own flesh

Salute characters with gracious dignity:
Though what these are is left to
Your own terms. Exact: the universe is
Not so small but these will be found
Somewhere. Exact: they will be found

Speak with great moderation: but think
With great fierceness, burning passion:
Though what the ant thought
No annuals reveal, no his descendants
Break the seal.

Trace the tracelessness of the ant,
Every ant has reached this perfection.
As he comes, so he goes,
Flowing as water flows,
Essential but secret like a rose.

STEP 2: Read poem again. Look for poetic devices in this poem.