Bukambibig 2009 Photos
Events by Bernard Julian Patiño | March 16, 2009
Our Cow, Red
Nonfiction by Thelma Carballo | March 15, 2009
I cannot recall how our cow was called “Red”. Maybe it was because of his color. Red was really a bull, but I prefer to call him a “cow”. At the time Red was acquired I was still an infant. My vague memory of Red was at three, close to the concluding years of World War II.
There were trees and bushes around the clearing in the forest of Cotabato. The sun was bright and warm. Red was lying down on the grass under the shade of a tree. He had horns (like a Texas longhorn) so he must have been a bull, but I prefer to remember him as a cow. My older sister Norma, was standing on his head, holding on to a tree branch, while she picked fruits. A dog napped near the cow’s belly.
Taong Bato
Fiction by Taloy Dumdum | March 15, 2009
Alas nuebe na nang gabi nun. Bigla akong hinila ng magaling kong kaklase dun sa may rebulto na tila sinasamba ng lahat na mga estudyante. Nagtipon-tipon sila, tayo. Imbes na iparada ang mga parol para sa selebrasyon ng kapaskuhan, hayun ang lahat, may dala-dalang plakard. May itim na may puting tinta, at puti na may tintang itim at pula. May nagsasalita sa gitna. Daan-daang mag-aaral ang nandun pero walang mikropono. Tahimik ang lahat. Nakikinig. Nakikiisa. Buo ang atensyong ibinibigay sa sinumang nagsasalita.
My Purple Umbrella
Poetry by Rory Ian Bualan | March 15, 2009
Who says my purple umbrella’s cheap?
Well, it may be the Captain,
or that guy who’s got rigid legs,
or the lady who thinks otherwise
as everyone did.
It may be the Operator,
or that little kid who knows math,
or the old man who takes his wife
for an alley cat.
Lessons in Immigration
Poetry by Miguel Antonio Lizada | March 15, 2009
You are a bag
of scented
and bleached
habits,
shuttled down
the corridors
of the city
to a different floor
in this condominium
of your choices.
Empty your pockets then
for a currency of new faces
and a handkerchief
to ball up words
ought not to be said.
Bukambibig: Salita't Sayaw
Events by Dominique Gerald Cimafranca | March 9, 2009
National Commission on Culture and the Arts, Davao Writers Guild, UP Mindanao Dance Ensemble, and the Ateneo de Davao University Humanities Division present: Bukambibig: Salita’t Sayaw, a performance of poetry and dance. Bukambibig features the works of Ricky de Ungria, Tita Lacambra Ayala, Macario Tiu, Aida Rivera Ford, Jhoanna Cruz, and Dom Cimafranca, as performed by the UP Mindanao Dance Ensemble.
The performance takes place on March 13 (Friday), 5:00PM to 7:00PM at the 5th Floor, Finster Hall of Ateneo de Davao University. If you wish to attend the event, please post your name as a comment by Thursday, or visit our Facebook event page.
Sa Pet Shop
Poetry by Dennis Sto. Domingo | March 9, 2009
Anak,
Hindi tayo laging may pagkakataong ganito
Kaya kailangang pagbutihin natin
Ang pagpiling ito.
Di tayo dapat kukuha ng matakaw
Sapagkat baka sa kanyang kahayukan
Pagkain natin mismo’y kanyang lantakan.
Sa kawag ng buntot, di dapat padala
Pagkat baka sa husay nyang makisama
Magnanakaw, sa ‘ting bahay makitira.
Hindi rin tamang pilii’y puro porma
Pagkat baka pati mismong suot nati’y
Kuning pampakintab ng balahibo nya.
Di rin uubra ang napakatalino
Pagkat dahil sa di magkaintindihan
Pamumuhay nati’y lalong magkagulo.
Anak,
Mahirap talaga ang gawaing ito
Kaya kailangang pagsanibin natin
Karanasan ko’t silakbo mo.
Blue Birds of Happiness
(after TALA)
Coming back
out from abyss, I am closer
than I have ever been
to be suspended in the air for so long
falling
at the same time not
Shattering is a dream
to break into many pieces
and disperse like steam
off something very, very cold
on a sticky sunny day.
The cold agony
is past comfort
a mother’s embrace that is far away
How could I have known that happiness came in a cage?