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Poetry
George Tapan’s Baler
This is us. Hold steady.No shakes please. We need clarity.No blur, but a clear picture of the windAnd clouds, our lives amongThe pebbles, our eyes intent on yourFocus as we face the sea.Surely, you’re an expertOf aperture and adventure,And our lives frozen, our...
BOL-ANON PRODIGAL (Panglao Island, 2022)
either you take the drinkor the drink takes you:
choice of tuba, san miguel beer,ginebra or vino kulafu—naunsa ba ka? Naglisud-lisud na ka sa pag-Binisaya!
Only the sea embraces—bluest expansedrowning all tongues, all thought:liquor brewed from a brown god’sblood, seasoned with the salt of memory.
Bisag unsa...
Two Poems for 2023
2023
Never too sure if thisis still the right way.The world maintains its tilta couple degrees off its axisand the roads shudderat our destinations.From where I standI see rain shooting from the groundlike glass weeds, volatile and feverish.Rainbows bursting out of trees.And the fires,...
Montage (of a Once Activist)
Meet me on Moraytabefore we march to our beloved stronghold,the Peace Arch in Mendiola,where the blood of our martyrscleansed its cornerstone.Swear that we will outnumberthe uniformed men in line.Meet me there, but watch your backlest a stranger followswith sinister eyes.
“Don’t forget to pass...
Santan
In the middle of the park,I am a pink and smooth baby –
my mother manages to put santanin my fists, the grass makes me rash
like hell and I scratch it out --nails like needles, my skin turns
the same shade as the flowersI’m molding...
Inner Angels
To You, All Those Years Ago
Little oneDo the yelling voices paralyze you?Just a while ago, she was singing you a gentle lullabyAs she cradled you in her armsHe was imitating a steam train from your favorite cartoonAs he brought to your lips a...
