Squeezed

It was already dusk when he arrived at the gate.

His eyes were immediately riveted to some children playing under the huge Christmas tree. A mango tree that was decorated with Christmas lights stood close to it.

He took out an old cellular phone inside his pocket. No messages. He squared his shoulders and heaved a great sigh. He looked at his own hands, which were already weary from pushing his own wheelchair. He tightened his grip on the wheels even more and turned them slowly forward. No one noticed his arrival when he painstakingly tried to squeeze himself through the main door.

Gauzed Wounds

 

The second brother came home,

as the other siblings did,

without a wife

rather with a beloved

sister

in his mind-

her sweet smile

and the gentleness of her gestures

incomparable from the other women he met.

This affection

if only he was warned

to put love aside

from brotherly care

would’ve saved them

from such a predictable strife.

For in the guise of foreseen obligation

when he knew of her intention

of not wanting to marry

sprung the idea

to be the one to love her instead.

Dama of His Nights

 

She wakes me, then she vanishes.

But the scent of a thousand other flowers

seems to harmonize to annoy me

as it lingers in the four walls of this room.

 

Ang Pangaral ni Juan Tamad kay Ambisyosong Kasoy

Batid kong hirap ka sa kinatatayuan mo

ngayon kaibigang kasoy.

Oo nga’t madilaw at mukha kang matamis

kapag hinog

bakit pagkatao mo’y nasa kinalahati?

Bitter Longing

I was

the seed of desire.

A hateful boon

among life’s choices

I had no right to decide.

a Curse

conceived by Nanay’s cold blood

wrapping my face

in a tight embrace

as she squeezed me out

with pure disgust.

 

Bulong

Buto ni Kasoy

pinagkaitan ng tadhana

nangarap na makalabas

sa lungga

ninais na makita ang mundong ibabaw.

A Helium Inside Papa’s Balloon

When I was younger,

Papa used to buy me my favorite

balloon.

A red one.

I saw him smile at me

and taught me how to handle it

without losing hold on it.

He said that I should hold it

tightly with my little bare hands.

But I don’t know how to control

that’s why he tied the string

and knotted it accordingly

to my right thumb without

hurting my finger.

He was so patient.

First Aid

Blood stained on their clothes.

They are lying on the field,

under the burning rays of sun at noon.

Check for unresponsiveness,

put the victims in the shade,

use the improvised stretchers,

cover the wound with clean dressing.

Rescuing them, using whatever we learned.

The mock accident seemed to be true.

Mother of Crimes

I hate them

so I killed them…

Dama de Noche

 

The sound of bells

and silent chatter

from each side of the isle

and white petals that spread on

the crimson stretch

Behold:

A fairytale of maharlikas and

village maids.