Category: Poetry

Labing Ulay

Poetry by | January 4, 2009

Matod nila, anghel akoang hulagway
Barog ug pustura nindot kunuhay
Ikog duulon ug istoryahon
Kay basig silay di akoang tagdon.

Akong nasinati ang kahiubos sa ilaha
Sanglit wa koy mahimo kun mulikay ko anang butanga
Labing kasakit sa kaugalingun
Kay sayop tanan ilang gipang-ingun.

Nahulog na hinuon nga nagtago ko sa usa ka MASKARA
Apan ang kamatud-anan wa giyud giapangutana,
Kaharuhay ni ining kinabuhi nga pirminti ta itimbaya,
Apan angay ba akong makaamgo nianang butanga.

Hayahay manginabuhi sa kinabuhing tunhay,
Apan lisod kay dili ko usa ka LABING ULAY

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Akong Gugma Nimo

Poetry by | January 4, 2009

sa hapin sa handumanan
akong gugma idayan-dayan
putling pangandoy
kanimo makapanaghoy.

sa akong panumduman
maoy talamdanan
sa gugmang nakaplagan
nganha sa kawanangan

ang gugmang gitipigan
sa dugay nang kapanahonan
taliwala sa pagmahay
sa akong kasing-kasing mipahulay

busa ayaw kalimti
ning akong sugilanon
ugma puhon hundurawon
sa pitik ning kasing-kasing
akong gugma nagpamasin

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PISO

Poetry by | December 28, 2008

Adunay usa ka bata
Nangandoy ug PISO
Mupalit daw siya ug kendi
ug tungod kay pasko man
nakahuna-huna manaygon
Nagkuha ug duha ka bato
gigamit nga musiko
ug nagsugod sa kanto…

“jinggol bels, jinggol bels
jinggol od da wi, olwis pan
darestorayn en d wanders open sli.”
Kanta sa bata sa unang higayon
Apan gisirad-an kani sa balay
ug gipahawa ang bata…

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Ellis Island

Poetry by | December 28, 2008

Nagpinta ka
sa lupalop ng aking gunita—
ng mga natuklap na kaban at maleta,
ng mga napudpod na sapatos at sandalyas,
ng mga nasugatan na pantalon at bestida.

Tumugtog ka
sa lupalop ng aking gunita—
ng mga hiyaw ng sanggol na gutom,
ng mga lagapak na interogasyon,
ng mga buntong-hininga ng disilusyon.

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A Modern Rapunzel

Poetry by | December 21, 2008

I admit: I did it
not the witch.
I hate my suitor,
Who still lives in middle ages.
He doesn’t own a cellphone,
doesn’t know what a car is,
and doesn’t have an inkling
how to court a woman like me.
Everyday he rides on his horse
from his faraway palace up to my fortress
just to utter words of the same idea
all over again.
Continue reading A Modern Rapunzel

Barya

Poetry by | December 21, 2008

Sa bawat yapos
Ng lupa at yapak mo’y
Nais kong wasakin
Ang bintanang pinid sa
          aking dibdib,
Ang idolong lumiliyab sa
      busilak ng iyong tawa.
                        Handa akong malunod
Sa ningning at gulo ng
      peryang
                        Dulot ng iyong mga mata.
             
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How do you write a poem?

Poetry by | December 14, 2008

How do you give birth to beautiful thoughts?
How do you pull the stars, the ocean, and the sunset
Towards a piece of paper?
How do you convince the angels to whisper and coach you?
Or the devils, to just sit and listen?
How do you tell the pen
To write something meaningful?
Something people will look for?
Something they will tell their friends about?
How do you generate colors from a black-inked pen?
How do you write with a smile in your voice?
How do you match the right words?
How do you summon the nicest punctuations?
How do you arrange everyday expressions
To form a symphony?
How do you liven up a dormant heart,
A dead emotion,
An indifferent soul?
How do you write a poem?

—-
Karla Stefan Singson is a 4th year Marketing student and the president of the debating club of the Ateneo de Davao University.

A Rainy Day

Poetry by | December 14, 2008

A canopy of dark clouds
hovers above the city
like an old newspaper
covering a dead body.
Another victim
of the Davao Death Squad.
It never fails.
I see other headlines of death,
a barangay official ambushed,
an innocent citizen stabbed to death
while falling in line
to buy two kilos of NFA rice.
Media men being harassed.
It never fails to rain
in the afternoon or at night
the way people never fail to fill
the city’s square,
men of different ages and from different classes,
men seeking the company of others.
And then when it rains I wonder,
Does the greasy man in black ever sleep?
Does he ever drink coffee?
Does he ever like the rain?

—-
Myan May G. Declaro hails from Surigao del Sur and is currently a senior BA English – Creative Writing student of UP Mindanao.