ha Tacloban
kabo an naghuhugas
kada kahuhuman ko
lilingkod ha inuduro
kada aga
aadi ako yana ha Munich
nagproproblema
kay waray kabo
aanhon ko man
pag-uli
hin’ nga buli?
trans. from Waray by Dante A. Rosales
in Tacloban
I use a water dipper
to wash up
every time I’m done
using the toilet bowl
every morning
now I’m here in Munich
greatly bothered
because no one uses a water dipper
how do I manage
to clean myself up
from all this shit?
—
Voltaire Q. Oyzon teaches Literature and Social Science courses at Leyte Normal University in Tacloban City. He was a Writing Fellow in the UP 41st National Creative Writing Workshop and 10th Iligan National Writing Workshop.