Category: Poetry

Sa Barya'y kumakapit

Poetry by | December 30, 2012

Sa bawat hakbang,
sikmuray kumakalam.
Sa bawat sayaw ng lata’y
minimithing barya ang inaasam.

Sa kalagitnaan ng daan,
silay nagmamanman.
Kung sinong may alam
na silay nangangailangan.

Sa sira-sira nilang damit.
ay nakasuot ang minimithi.
Na silay mapawi
sa kahirapang kay sakim

Hindi sila inutil,
kung sa barya’y sila nakatingin.
Sadya lang mapait
ang pagkakataong marikit
kaya sa barya sila’y nakadikit

Sa mga may barya,
na winawaldas ng pa sadya.
Ang walay gumiginhawa,
sa baryang itinapon sa kanila.

Kaya hanggang ngayo’y
latay inaaliw.
Nang mahulugan ng pasadya
ng barya’ng may kaya.

Candles

Poetry by | December 23, 2012

(Salin-wika mula sa Singlish na tula ni Alvin Pang)

Oy, bantay ka lang pag malaman ni papa na nagkuha ka na naman ng mga candle sa church.

Sige na lang gud kuya, uy. Ibalik ko lang pagkatapos mo mag-study. Hindi man niya malaman kung hindi ka magsabi. Madilim kaya masyado, pa’no ka makabasa?

May moon man din, makakita ako konti. May ilaw din kila ankel Leon, nagakuha ako ng konti sa mirror. Pwede na ‘to. Ibalik mo yang mga candle. Ayaw ko makasab-an dahil sa iyo.

Gi-uwian na gani kita, na kalayo-layo nitong bahay, ipabalik mo pa? Good Friday bitaw ngayon, dami masyadong candle sa church, hindi na yan nila mapansin na wala ang nine, a.

Mali pa rin kahit hindi nila mapansin uy! Ibalik mo na yan.

Ayoko.

Continue reading Candles

Luminary

Poetry by | December 23, 2012

The night is a crude piss
spread out seismically
like a fan of rivers.
I yawn as it muscles for my attention,
tearing me from the wipers and
the shindig of cars dancing skin to skin
in the midst of the rush hour in Bajada.
Yellow.
Slow down.
Red.
Brake.
There’s a pretense suspended
in the polluted air that not even the rain
or the mist of windows can dispel.
Thoughts teleport to a parallel world
where the same conundrum is distracted by
hurrying hands and skidding lips… bodies.
An impatient honk.
Green.
Go.
Must move forward.
A little more and finally,
the traffic lights
learn to love wide lanes.

Low I.Q Lab Apeyr

Poetry by | December 23, 2012

Cloud 9 ang filing ko
Nang maging mag-on tayo
Dahil I crush u sinagot agad kita
Kahit kabribrik nyo lang ng dati mong syota.
Sabi ng frens ko ako’y ulol
‘di ko raw alam ang 3month rule
“ So wat” sey ko naman,
“ Hindi na uso ang ganyan.”
Kahit na tru txt lang ang ating ligawan
Ebri moment akin pa ring ninanamnam
At mas praktikal naman ang unlitxt na diyes
Kesa isang boquet ng long stem roses.
In pak, ang swit mo sa aken
Napakatotful mo at kering
“Slip tyt. Kain na u. tsupsup. Bebe ko.”
Ikaw na talaga ang aking Don Romantiko.
Lab na lab ko rin ang ating tampuhan
Kapag tayo’y may deyt at ako’y iniindyan
So kyut, apekted ka sa fb status ko
At agad-agad ititxt mo ako.
“kaya hinde ako nakarateng
Dahel may iniutos si nanay sa aken
Bebe sori hinde na mauulet
Lab kita wag ka nang magalet.”
At heto naman me sa kileg namimilipet
I always porgiv u nang paulet-ulet
I’ll txt bak “ Ok. Peace na tau bebe”
Ang swit ng reply mo, “ I lab u. jejeje.”

Zero Gravity

Poetry by | December 16, 2012

gravityThe astronaut is dreaming of Earth in zero gravity.

Tucked in the weightlessness of space, he free floats

across the cabin and softly bounces against the walls.
He is dreaming of old alleyways and of older nightclubs

and of the girl he left back in the city a few million miles

away. She is lovely. It is nighttime and she is looking
at the stars, wondering what it feels like to sleep alone

in the sky. It feels like it is never morning, he would tell

her. It feels a little cold but the weather is not that bad.
The astronaut is awake. He blinks his eyes into dreams

of rain.

Walking Alone in Ilustre



Poetry by | December 16, 2012

You stand there,

fixed with an intention

as I walk with uncertainty,

looking for street lights

in this cold, dark eleven thirty air.



The damp cement casts 

small, vertical white clouds,

breathing out the day’s frustrations 

telling me it’s empty; save for some 

taxis lining up for a late catch.



Tall, intimidating walls of 

this giant we hail ‘GS’ greet

me in a nonchalant way.

And my feet carried me to its

lonely, awkwardly angled corners – 

where fixed intentions meet.



Taking a sharp turn, 

I walk towards the
almost-erased street sign.

There I stand feeling pierced

by sharp, eager eyes probing.



But then, there you are.

You with your intention, 

heading toward me.

Dinnertime

Poetry by | December 9, 2012

Mama, Papa, and I
are eating in the dining room,
Mama sitting opposite papa
on the dining table.
There is only silence
but the clang of my spoon
hitting the bowl
as I stir mom’s special law-uy.
Until Mama stabs her plate with a fork
and glares at Papa
and shouts at him about a woman
named Julie.
Papa scoots from his chair
but Mama throws her glass,
exploding on the wall.
Papa tells me to go to my room
and play with Barbie
but I hide near the dining room
and hear screams shattering like the
thrown glasses and plates.
When I hear Mama’s sobs,
I frown
because dinner time is over.
And I’m a bad girl
because I didn’t eat Mama’s special law-uy.

—
Glyd works as a research assistant at Philippine Women’s College of Davao. He was a fellow of ADDU Writers Workshop 2010 and Davao Writers Workshop 2011.

Sa Panahon ng Internet at Cellphone

Poetry by | December 9, 2012

Ipinagbubunyi natin ang pagdagsa
Ng mga gadyet na tila infusyon
Nating ikinakabit sa ating mga ugat.
Sapagkat kundi man tayo iga
Sa tango at pansin ng mga kakilala
Ay takot tayo sa mga sandali ng ating pag-iisa.
Kinakabahan tayong manatili sa isang silid
Na istakato lamang ng ating pulso at dibdib
Ang mauulinig sa kinasasadlakang paligid.
Kaya sa halip na ang isip ay makikumpas
Makidama sa pagitan ng bawat paghinga
Pagbubulaybulay at pagkilala sa pagkatao
Ay abala tayo sa pagpindot ng mga teklado
At pagbuo ng mga niritokeng teksto’t litrato
Gayong kinakatay lamang natin ang saysay
Ng ating mga panaginip at paglalakbay ng malay.

—
Edgar Bacong studied AB Sociology at the Ateneo de Davao University, and now lives in Zurich, Switzerland.