Only once
I felt compelled
to pray and repel
the holiday effect
upon my learners.
In Jesus name. Amen.
Still nobody cared
about tedious dusts
I marked on green walls.
Then came
a reckless command,
my offhand instruction:
form a big circle
and throw aimless
questions to any
of your schoolfellows
in dignified uniform.
So the learned girl
graced first, a query
for Ken. She asked
about the face
wrapped in satin veil.
Sainted. Orphic.
Like Mariam. Does he
adore her mystery?
The room, unprepared
for his nod, uproared
to dare his guts,
to face the veiled face
while he choked
on every syllable
but managed his phrases
well. Do you, he faltered
share what I feel,
he paused and uttered
her delicate name:
Sitti?
An absence of sound
as if all were in prayer.
We waited and heard
her faint reply
of a restraint smile
arched on her lips.
I faced the next days
with an offhand lesson
of seeing two seated eyes
glancing end to end
amidst spiraling chairs.
Twisted. Back in shape.
—-
Seneca Nuneza Pellano teaches Creative Writing at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan.