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Poetry
MATERNITY WARD WOES
Zero Hour Doc
Hours from here My man went from door to door Offering our pigs and chickens at half the price For any moving vehicle that could bring me to you
That, we don’t have, the farmers saidbut blood we can giveOn trucks loaded with cane;On top of...
Seven out of ten farmers have no land
Seven out of ten lands have no song
Seven out of ten songs have no scent
Seven out of ten scents have no tears
Seven out of ten tears have no words
Seven out of ten words have no thunder
Seven out of ten thunders have no wound
Seven...
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...
