Requiescat In Pace

Poetry by | February 27, 2011

Verdi’s Dies Irae is playing in the background.
Carefully I listen, without wonder.
I am in the mood for it, as if I intended that
it be played.
No one cared.

I am alone and I feel very light.
Nothing seems to matter.
Slow is time’s passing
as if a second is forever
and a minute, unspeakable.

I see people around me;
their mouths moving as if speaking —
Whispers. Murmurs.
They do not talk to each other,
they are speaking to me.
Not a word is audible, comprehensible;
in fact, I hear nothing.
What they speak is silence.

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Auction

Poetry by | February 27, 2011

I have borrowed you from Moment
when life’s stringent as my budget,
tricked it into pawning up to my last
breath at such a sky-high interest.
I didn’t notice the grace period
and before I knew it, it’s already
auctioned. Soon I will become somebody
else’s secondhand treasured possession.

— 
Orlando Sayman is an A.B. Literature graduate from AdDu and is currently teaching at DMMA College of Southern Philippines.

Edi and the Riddle of the Lady

Fiction by | February 13, 2011

Adapted from Greek Mythology. Illustrations by Juan Carlos Tejada and Kevin Hiram Tejada+

When Edi reached the city’s gate
all was quiet and sedate.
So Edi called with his voice out loud
“HEY MONSTER, WHEREVER YOU ARE, COME OUT!”

Suddenly there was loud flapping of wings
And a large, dark shadow loomed over him.

The winged creature was large and furry
With the body of lion
And the head of a lady.

Continue reading Edi and the Riddle of the Lady

As You Know Nothing

Poetry by | February 13, 2011

The world is a crazy place;
There’s always room for the right and wrong people.
But, despite the fact that there are always two kinds of entities
this pit has always had a niche for people to squeeze themselves in.
And no matter how tight that little space,
One will always find solace in a corner
To appreciate the world go by in a day.

Our planet is a fuzzy little shell.
Its enigma keeps us looped and drawn in;
No matter how much we break free
The rope that binds is never too strong or too slight to cut through.
And as you already know, everyone is an element of the world,
Part and parcel, part of the whole,
Co-existing in chaos and harmony.

All this knowledge make you think you already know what it takes to live
For you appreciate the world as we all know it,
For we appreciate humanity as we live it,
For we love as we feel it
For we curiously navigate as we sail through life’s ebbs
For we rise as we fall
And we live through it all!

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The Cellist

Poetry by | February 13, 2011

I wish I was your cello
in frenzy at the touch of your bow, stirring
as your erratic fingers pluck
my still but waiting strings, gasping
while you control your breathing
and dance madly
to the notes you were playing,
to the music that only a cello and the cellist can hear;
reverberating, convulsing, until the orchestra stops,
until the lights went off
that marks the end of our piece.

I’m listening.

—
Myan Declaro took up AB English Creative Writing in UP Mindanao and is currently working at Caraga State University.

Thanks for Taboan

Editor's Note by | February 13, 2011

The Davao Writers Guild, along with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, would like to thank everyone who attended the 3-day Taboan International Writers Festival at the Royal Mandaya Hotel. Special thanks goes out to the LCB Performing Arts Center Foundation for the entertaining performances and support for this entire event.

Of course, the festival would not have been a success without the writers from all over the country, and the world, who shared new insights and encouraged a greater sense of heart toward the arts and the written word. Until the next year!

Relo

Poetry by | February 6, 2011

Kining relo nga kalit niundag tuyok
Dili usa ka makinang daot.
Kini ang akong pagbating gitipigan,
Gisuksok sa pamasing ang tanan makalimtan.

Ug diha sa suok siya nagpaabot.
Sa hilom, naghandom nga pansinon,
Nag-ampo nga sa maka-usa pa,
Sul-obon.

Apan ang akong kasingkasing
Gipul-an na. Gikapoyan nag ilis.
Naluya sa mga kuso-kuso,
Nawad-an og kusog sa pagpanlubag.

Kining relo nga niundang og pitik
Dili usa ka makina. Kini usa ka pagbating
Nahinanok ug wa kamata.
Di na ko mopalit og bag-ong baterya.

—
About Jayson Parba: Si Jayson usa ka magtutudlo sa Capitol University sa Cagayan de Oro City.

Poetry by | February 6, 2011

They defined love right before we knew it;
boxed it, typecast it even before we saw it,
and actually felt it:
     bright red silk and sheets
     of sun-dried passion;
yet they never told us it could be this painful. About Rory Bualan: “I teach, read and write. 😉 …and eat and diet.”