Sa Likod

Poetry by | April 19, 2009

Dalawang panahon ang magkasabay na nagaganap:
ang panahon ngayon
at panahon sa likod nito.

May gabi
sa likod ng gabing ito,
may oras sa likod
ng oras ngayon,
may mga nagaganap
sa likod ng mga pangyayari ngayon.

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Sampaguita

Poetry by | April 19, 2009

He parked the Kia
at the bangketa—
children screamed “kuya,”
children screamed “kuya…”

Strings of white flowers
in the hands of small Maria,
her fingers tapped, “kuya,”
on the window of his Kia…

He opened the door
and let her sit inside
that air-conditioned Kia,
that dark-tinted Kia…

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Catching Up

Poetry by , | April 12, 2009

babaeng-daghan-buluhaton
Lazy Saturday afternoons
    To catch up on rest.
Hectic Monday mornings
    To catch up on work.
Heavy, sweaty scrubbings
    To catch up on cleaning.
Lengthy, newsy letters
    To catch up with friends.
Planned week-end outings
    To catch up with family.
Long, passionate embraces
    To catch up on love.

Why am I always catching up?

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WomEn, Each a Woman

Poetry by | April 12, 2009

Women, each a woman,
Two, three, five women
Four.
     Wise and foolish
     Quiet…..loud
     Irreverent…..prayerful
     Baffling and simple.
Together they weave the Core
Tight, loose, gentle
Envisioning wholeness and wellness
As they gaze at moon and stars.
     Restless and calm
     Sturdy…..fragile
     Detached…..involved
     Detailed and summed.
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A Toast to Earth Goddesses

Poetry by | April 12, 2009

Here’s to
     weaving girl dreams and woman fantasies
     dancing unrehearsed to one another’s beat
     sharing heart stories, health teas and therapies
     savouring fleeting joys in both cold and heat.

Here’s to
     crying lonely then bursting into laughter
     laughing uncontrolled till eyes brim with tears
     looking exotic in floor-length silky wear
     feeling as pretty in mix-match garbs at ukay sale.

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We are Daughters of the Underworld

Poetry by | April 12, 2009

We are women of the
underworld
eating death to reproduce life induce life feed life
we are women of the
First Womb
weaving our own body and spirit seeds
into beads of birthings known only to the First Mystery
the First Nursery
designing new eggs within new shells
mining the minerals of unconscious caverns
we are women of the dark
our wombs partially blinded by the white light
from atomic bombs of human delusion
we are women of Earth and Wind and Ocean
daily dressed like Moon with Sun’s divine patina
on special occasions our aural gowns are of the Stars
and maybe some distant undiscovered Planet’s

But sometimes we forget.

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