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Poetry
Dahil ba
Dahil ba ako'y bata
Ikaw ay walang awa?
Kung manlaban mahina,
Murang-mura ang diwa.
Dahil ba di mo kaya
Yaong mas matatanda,
Sa akin ibalandra
Ang 'di magawa-gawa.
Dahil nga ako'y bata,
Naiisip na tanga,
Gipit ang pag-unawa
Sa iyong halimbawa.
Dahil nga ako'y bata
Ipagkait ang saya:
Inggit ka yata, tanda,
Sa babaw ng aking ligaya.
Dahil nga...
Old letters
Did we not, as children, let the seasons
pour from our bosoms- artlessly,
as buds bringing to light. Colors
I painted words in pristine
tonality. The subject
watered by years of unwilled
partings. Of pages beginning
with Dear, and
ending with Love, always
love. At once
heavy and yet has never
felt lighter, clasped...
Geography of our Melancholies
For Mariko
This inconsolable distance
Between our lips
Separated by unfamiliar cities
And impassable seas;
This insatiable wonder for the unknown
That grows every day in morbid anticipation
Of the smell of your newly washed hair at sunrise
And the taste of your sweat in a tropical afternoon
Submerging my heart in...
(free) will
The universe has no idea how powerful its inhabitants are.
With will given, they are free to live on their own.
What privilege has this earth given us?
We step on its lands and call ourselves human.
With will given, they are free to live on their...
Blink Twice to Mean Yes
It’s not language nor the attempt
at a joke: it’s lack of understanding
that dooms the animal crossing the road.
Still, the same oblivion awaits it
inside the slaughterhouse. Therefore
claims should not just be made
within reason, but more with respect
to circumstance. Like the assault
of a bird’s presence...
To my bereaved beloved
I want my body to be cremated.
Weigh my ashes as against my flesh.
The difference would be of my soul’s.
Much of my leaving soul is water
from each of my cells after the long years of lingering
edema. Much of my soul would be water
gushing like...
