Burnt

He had no body hair. Passion had consumed it all.

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.

 

Cursed

by: Khareen Culajara, Lymae Belle Ednalgan, Maryanne Lobaton and Maureen Devorah Ronquillo

 

CAST

Fausta

An upper-class girl who suffers a mysterious disease and tries to stop the curse that has been pervading her family for generations

TIME: An hour before midnight

PLACE: A rambling old abandoned mansion.

 

(At the attic. FAUSTA rummages through a chest of drawers but finds nothing. Exasperated, she sits on a trunk and speaks to a certain Mepi.)

Fausta: There’s got to be a way, Mepi. And you’re the only one who can help me.

Stuck

The gate creaked with rusty decay.

A nearby karaoke bar aired an array of novel songs. A ten-wheeler truck overflowing with rice sacks passed by. Clumsily assembled “tricycles” cluttered the now paved road. Always in a hurry to get to their destination. No time for slowing down.

The Clothesline

On the porch, she sat

Alone,

as the sun shone upon her

a regal glow.

Her yellow dress flowed with ease

as it radiated shame and doubts upon

my oversized shirt and

lingered on the space

around

the insides of

my baggy pants.

I held out my

Hand

and waited for

the touch

that held on through

bright skies and ice creams and

days playing with

puddles of mud.

Until our feet became soddened with

dirt and water

and our hands,

wrinkled with soap suds and

still waters,

as we try to wash in vain

the stain of our

childhood

bliss.

Bystander

 

the bridge casts shadows

the lily that blooms in May

you pluck the blossom,

look pass my eyes and extend

your hand that never touches mine.