Category: Poetry

Ang Paghimaya sa Lawas

Poetry by | February 19, 2023

Sa kangitngit nako una nailhan ang himaya sa lawas.
Wala sulod sa simbahan, apan sa sulod
sa imong gamayng kwarto kon asa gikompisal
nato ang gipangitang kaluwasan.

Mingluhod ko una,
sama sa debotong andam na mangalawat.
Mingpiyong ko
ug gidawat ka sa akong baba.

Kita ang simbahan karong gabhiona
ug ikaw ang akong simbahon.

Saksi ang mga bungbong sa atong pagdayeg.
Saksi ang kama sa pagsalmo natong duha.
Ang mga kamot hu-ot ang pagkupot
sa usag-usa nga murag walay ugma.
Ang mga baba nato gasampit
og paghimaya.
Ug ang pagpangalawat sa atong mga halok
sama sa paghalok sa dagat sa balas—
walay pu-as, walay kataposan.

Mingtindog ko ug mingluhod ka,
ako ang pari ug ikaw na pod ang mingsimba.
Sa kaluwasan nga gipangita sa atong lawas
kita nahimong usa.

John Gilford A. Doquila is a graduate of the BA English (Creative Writing) program of UP Mindanao. Presently, he teaches creative writing and literature subjects to high school students in a Montessori school in Quezon City.

Lutaw

Poetry by | February 6, 2023

 

Niinging layag sa kinabuhi
Kung diin ang kalinaw
Igo na lamang na hanaw
Ug ang unos nitubaw

Nahisukamod sa mga gabnod
Gilokumos sa dagkong bawod
Daw sa kinabuhi kini hawod
Unsaon aron dili malunod

Kung ang bangka wala nay katig
Ug ang layag naguba nas hangin
Lisod magpadayon sa kapalaran
Kung ang direksyon dili na mahikaplagan

Moabot ang panahon ang tiil
Mohunong na sa pagpatid
Kung diin dili na kayang mosalom
Og maunlod na lamang sa ilawom

Kung sa bawod kita lunuron
Ug sa gapnod isi-isihon
Pasagdai kung asa kita dad-on
Sa hampak niining panghitabo karon

Kay tataw kaayo nga lisod sugaton
Ang dagmal sa kapalaran karon
Apan, kung ikaw magmaisogon

—Lutaw lang sa gihapon

Jean C. Cano hails from San Isidro, Davao Oriental. Currently studying at Davao Oriental State University-San Isidro Extension Campus, Jean is a sophomore taking Bachelor of Elementary Education.

Magpuli Ta Sa Uma

Poetry by | February 6, 2023

Magpuli ta sa uma kag magtanom sang kahoy
kag mga gulay nga aton kaunon
magpuli ta didto nga mabugnaw sa kagab-ihon
kag matinong sa imo paniyapon.
Simuti ang sungaw ka lupa nga imo gin-kali
para sa imo tanuman, simuti ang hangin
nga naga-palid sang burador nga anda ginapalupad.
Ta kag kita magpahuway sa payag, sid-inga
ang mga mapula nga bunga sang katumbal nga nagatudlo
sa kalangitan nga naga dayaw sa Ginoo
samtang nagasaot sa paghuyop sang hangin.
Magpuli kita sa uma kag mangabuhi
sang kinabuhi nga simple
nga ang aton pagkaon ara lang sa palibot
ang kape mo nga sara-sara sa sartin nga tasa
tupad sang takuri kag sang radyo nga nagasaysay
sang historya ni Gimo, nga isa ka teniente.

**

JD Arellano is an accountant presently splitting time between Davao City and Koronadal City. Some of his works were published in Cotabato Literary Journal, Dagmay, and in his zines “Hide and Seek” (2018) and KUN AKO MATAK-AN, AKO MANGIN ISA KA MAYA (2022), on which this poem first appeared.

spoliarium

Poetry by | January 23, 2023

 

he must have been remarkable,
to capture wizened, cynical eyes,
or to earn a woman’s weeping
in a place for forgetting the dead,

which will not in millennia be rid
of the stench of rotten blood
haunting it like the million specters
hidden long ago in its stained halls.

but he, too, will become a ghost,
whose futile grasp at life and glory
ensured that his shell will never return
to the remains of the place of his birth.

he, too, will be a whisper in the throng
of the orphans and widows drifting
with bare feet, bare breasts, cracked lips,
stomachs twisting upon themselves.

in the world above, the crowd cheers
for the lone gladiator still standing.
the denarii pass between greedy hands,
and a purple toga remains unstained.

but here, at the edge of the darkness,
we can mourn a man fearless and dead.

Thei Roy is a queer writer who is currently studying in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, under their Intarmed program. They are based in Davao City.

About Water

Poetry by | January 16, 2023

A poem about water would tell of
shallow ponds, silent lakes flooded with
rain from rivers. I will tell you about
the stream flowing the wrong way, the brook
babbling up the wrong hill. Perhaps the
wave cresting on the shoreline, dying
far out at sea. The roaring waterfall of
rising water, its plunge pool a shallow puddle.
They will never tell you what they long for,
the reasons why they rebel: the stream is driven by
an undercurrent of disbelief. It curses its mother,
blames its doubt on the kind mountain spring.
The brook, tactless in its climb, remains
ignorant. Its arrogance is the dam that swells
hubris. It sees its shallow sediment from
the height of roaring floodwater. The wave is
discontent. It hurries from dull sand grains for
greed, searching for gold in the wrong sea.
The waterfall, a water rise. It aims high while
wishful. Always unsatisfied, losing itself in
the heights it aspires to. These waters have
Forgotten to remember. Will you?

Jerson Randell Francisco is a Grade 12 HUMSS student at Davao Christian High School V. Mapa Campus, Davao City.

 

Galatea

Poetry by | December 19, 2022

Lonely writer in the dark;
Sipping sorrows with my damaged heart.
To you I plea, to you I stand,
to test the time and toughness of this land.

Though my soul wails
As your presence set sails;
And my dignity scattered like entrails,
As I continue to flee from their blackmails;

I will remember you,
And your silhouette so stark;
burn our memories, as onto a cd that’s new;
even though the chance to be back with you is too damp for a spark.

Can you fathom, sentient being, that I love you?
Your smile fleeting as fast as the wind;
Do you feel the flame that resides in my heart,
Or the seething anger from my lips when you are scarred?

Darling daughter, does death daunt thee?
For the forest is fruitful with fleeting fickle flesh;
The living, the lost, the forsaken, lies low in loneliness;
Beneath the burrowed sand, brown; and the weather breezy;

Sing with me, under the star-studded sky by the sea;
Embrace me, as my lips kiss the flask of tears,
With which my weary wistful weeping has decided to win;
Where later, snow stays on top of cars and counters and streetlights.

A friend or foe, a fiery fiend,
Has life always been this unpreened?
The raging wind within me screams;
The impatient roar of unspilled whims;

What have I done, I beg for pardon of my actions uncouth;
Yet stubbornly, still I fathom,
The sting of death that came from your mouth,
So instead of reality digging daggers with words,
I’d rather you pushed me down a chasm.

What more is left for a stranger;
Whose whole being was left with a crater?
Why can’t they let us sit with ease,
Storms have built up with no release!

And paradise couldn’t be any nearer;
Or so I thought when I looked in the mirror;
Thoughts of precipitation still linger;
But would they forgive me, a sinner…

Amidst the unrest,
The untangle pieces I couldn’t digest;
Was all a happy ending, water and grease?
I finally ask as I grieve to my knees.

 

Lorri Anne Morren T. Muyco who is a Grade 12 student from Davao City. The poem was inspired by the Exhibit, ‘Poetry & Prose’ held at La Herencia, Davao on November 13-30, 2022 The Exhibit has an open call for everyone who would, like to write a reflective output. This is the winning entry. Here you see the work of the painter.

Pakig-unong ug Pag-ampo sa Kasubo

Poetry by | December 19, 2022

Unong ug pangaliya sa kasubo

         sa kamatayon sa mahigugmaong kadugo

         sa gisalikway ug giluibang putling gugma

         sa gilipotang tiunayng higala

         sa pagkawagtang sa gihagoang patigayon

         sa pagpapas sa maalagarong pagpanilbi

         sa pagdagsa sa makapahisalaag nga mga kabag-ohan

Ang kalangitan ug kawanangan

         nalukop sa kangitngit

         kay gitabilan sa dagtomg dag-om

         nga nagpabunok og galusok nga mga luha

         aron mobasbas ug mobanlas sa pagkaylap

         sa kahulaw ug kahaw-ang nga kahimtang

         sa mga nadutlang lumulupyo sa kalibotan

Ang hanging galaposlapos sa paglabay-suroy

         nagbiyobiyo sa paghaguros ug paghampas

         aron abugon [tayhopan] ang malas ug pasutuyon ang mga tunglo

         ug panghimaraot samtang di makaturok ug makagamot

         sa mga kahiladman ug kasingkasing sa mga nawad-an ug nasamdan

         ug hinuon sila mahulipan sa kahupayan ug paglaom

         ipanghupaw ang pag-ampo nga mopatigbabaw ang kaayohan.

September 22, 2022

Elvi is a poet and Visual artist based in Davao City. He holds a Bachelor’s  degree in Philosophy, a masters degree in Theology, major in Pastoral Ministry both from Ateneo de Davao University.

Kamingaw

Poetry by | December 19, 2022

Pag ang kamingaw mamukaw

Usahay makatugaw

Kahidlaw mapatumaw

Makapaalingasa kay di matagbaw

Makapatukaw ug makapulaw

Mahasol kag pangitag lingaw

Apan anaa pod kini gasa ug gahom

Maayong tubayan, sination ug dawaton

Kay makapugwat sa pagdumdom

Makadasig paghanduraw ug paghandom

Sa pinili ug ginahambin sa kahiladman

Namingawan, gikawilihan, di makalimtan.

 

Nobyembre 11, 2022

 

*** 

Elvi is a poet and Visual artist based in Davao City. He holds a Bachelor’s  degree in Philosophy, a masters degree in Theology, major in Pastoral Ministry both from Ateneo de Davao University.