I.

English Poems

1
GENESIS

'Twas dark and all was nowhere;

Everything seem'd telling lies
'Til they were made to appear,
Taking shapes before my eyes.

2
PERPETUAL MOTION

On a sand less stepped on

by many, I drew a square
whose side was twice my height.
I lay on my back in that square
with my head tangent to its side
and with my feet on the intersection
of the square's diagonals.
Temperature rose in the place.
My body melted.
My head turned into a magnet
and my feet into a pivot.
On each vertex of the square
emerged a magnet
which was polar with mine.
They beckoned me
to join them in their play.
As I approached one of them,
it moved away from me.
The next did the same.
Again I approached another,
hoping that it would be
different from the previous,
but I failed.
They were all the same!
They had planned it?
I thought of stopping their mischief
until I felt that some
mechanisms on my feet
were giving them motivation.
3
TO THE ROSE

Owe sunbeam your petals' radiance;

Forever it makes you flower.
And whilst a man gives his furtive glance,
May you give it a little care.
Then by your reciprocity,
You will gain even more beauty.

Be proud of the place that you took

Atop the many thorns and leaves;
Pity those who stay at the nook,
For a rule of this world believes
That a timid heart does not gain
Adulation and joy but pain.

Catch the teardrops shed from heaven;

Though they slap your delicate face,
Dews on it will have arisen
By the time heaven finds its grace;
As sunbeam returns, you will see
Crystals on your face add more glee.

To the rose in the neat garden:

Your scent and look delight me most;
Oh, you must have come from Eden!
Your splendor will never be lost.
But all I said would be a lie,
If pretty lady bade good-bye.

4
GRAVITY

Force that keeps the Earth in orbit

Around the Sun.
Nobody has ever seen it
Until the line
Of a falling meteor is drawn
On the night sky;
Until the tiny seed has grown
Into a tree;
Until people can clearly see
What's low or high.

Force that pulls the tide and the spring

A little bit.
Defiance to it is showing
The top secret
When a rocket escapes the Earth
To discover
The universe's wall and its birth.
Newton has found:
When an apple falls to the ground,
It's here and there.

Force that lets the Moon rise and set

In the dark night.
Force that makes Heaven and Earth meet
Before our sight.
When raindrops fall on a flower
Magic happens;
The latter's color turns brighter
5
 Under the Sun.
In love I fall with a woman
To the heavens.

6
TO LUNA

Brighter than the most powerful star

At this time of the clone of the day --
The night in which children want to play
On streets where nothing would ever mar
The excitement in patintero.
Your borrowed light keeps them stop and go.

Your being's mystified all the world

Since humans began to ask questions.
They each had contrasting conclusions
About what you are made of and hold:
For a blurry eye, you were a star;
Curiosity sees plainly the far.

'Til some laws speak of you and the tide,

The amount of bleeding of a wound,
The Earth's sun-centered merry-go-round,
And all the principles you abide.
Silent are they in the woman's womb
And about how the hill's spring could climb.

Dexterity let the rockets fly

And told them to land on your surface,
Leaving footprints nothing can erase
But the wind of doubt and rain of lie.
They should have carried a long, long strand
And left the one end where I stand.

7
Your shape is malleable to sunlight
And the place in the path that you take --
New, quarters, full for calendar's sake.
Your absence is a meaningless night
For an artist wanting your crescent
In his oeuvre with a black content.

At times you affront the Sun you owe

The magnificence you have at night;
At solar eclipse you seem to fight
Or, like a large serpent, to swallow
The burning and benevolent Sun.
A pagan would loudly beat his drum.

I am afraid that you will be lost.

Our children will never play at night.
Some small islands will be out of sight.
The unborn will choose to be a ghost.
The Earth of life will miss its best friend,
Walking the path with chaotic trend.

8
MY PRINCESS

Hold my hand, my Princess,

As we step on this grey ground
Where a clear line passes
Separating ill and sound.

Look at Sol, my Princess;

Feel the warmth of Her welcome
Like the yellow roses
That bloom when the dawn has come.

Hear the birds, my Princess;

Translate their sweet melody,
And you will find a verse
That says: No need to worry.

Breathe the air, my Princess,

Whilst it is pure and fragrant.
Be like the green grasses
That dance to the cool wind's chant.

Turn your head, my Princess;

Do not look at the dark night.
Though stars are in brightness,
The world is in black and white.

Lean on me, my Princess,

When you are tired of watching.
My shoulders mean prowess
That wanes your pain and crying.
9
Let us go, my Princess,
To that bright place, pure and green.
Help me build a fortress
And be my beautiful Queen.

10
NEW PATRIOTISM

'Tis intangible
Unlike the spears and the guns
Of the daughters and the sons,
Unconquerable;
But partly they symbolize
Its notion before our eyes.

The time has gone by,

And the world has also turned
From chaos into concord;
Now we say goodbye
To old discrimination
Racism and commotion.

There's a new icon

That can suitably depict
Our genuine love and respect
For our own nation --
Raising our right hand to pledge
And doing our job with badge.

11
LAST PRAYER

Struggle is our twin

Who treads with us,
Our left hand
That breaks the cobwebs --
A hint that no one
Has passed this narrow,
Virgin path before us.
We have to offend
Even the least of creations
That witnessed our birth --
Our ingratitude --
Just to conquer
The peak of the mountain of life.
Whilst we see
The signs of doom there,
We must pray
That He clothe them
With our skins,
So we alone can feel
The burning mulct
Of our sins.

12
GUARDIAN ANGEL

Science bent my faithful lens to doubt

The disclosure of the mystic;
(Anything that comes out his mouth
Violates what is pragmatic!)

Until my lens is corrected

By almost drowning in the sea;
On a large boulder I was pushed
Even if I did not agree;

By floating from the depth of death

After being hit on the head
By falling fruits and out of breath --
To the brink of death I was led;

By almost running bike over

An innocent large buffalo,
Which misty helmet made unclear;
(Good that I did not further go!)

As I go by the bamboo grass,

Its leaves start to sway and rustle
As though the wind were there to pass
From the wings of Guardian Angel.

13
THE REINCARNATED MAN

My soul has traveled a distance

Equal to zero
From an undefined
Origin up to this real existence;
My body cannot find
Any evidence
Of the secret passage
Through which I passed,
Except of what my spirit carries --
A bit of the past subsistence
Which intersects a segment
Of this present being.
The reason why I returned
Lies beyond my thinking,
For I left this world
With an unfinished calling.
I am here,
With my heart beating,
For her.

14
KRIT

The sun in space

reaches this place
by a ray;

Clouds in the sky

begin to cry
through the rain;

The water glows

As river flows
to the sea;

The blooms secrete

a fragrance sweet
for the wind;

The pleased birds chant,

tell what they want
from the world;

The quiet mind

makes all thoughts bind
in a line.

15
OF GOLD AND COINS

Tall buildings and machines

Weave a mask we use
To conceal the face
Of a genuine progress,
As it acts in a drama
With alluring accompaniment
Of clanging coins
And spotlight from
Glittering gold.

Hypnotized by the scene,

The audience applaud
The masked performer
Who was born to plant
The seeds and help them
Grow and bear fruits.

The mask is blinding

With two narrow holes
For his clear tearful eyes,
Squinting and tripping,
Displacing a mountain
Of real treasures
In search of a nugget
Which only knows
How to mimic
The clanging of coins.

16
TO LAHONG SHORE

Gone are the days

When your shore at low tide
Would offer a long roll
Of smooth paper upon which
A young boy would sketch
His points and lines
And make his talent sprout;
When your sea would sweetly kiss
And caress the fine white sand;
When your talisay, dapdap,
And calumpang trees
Would dance to the chorus
Of wind and birds.

I miss those days.

I miss you now

That your sand has joined the walls
Of concrete abodes of people
Who make your sea waves sick,
Throwing up every time they smell
The litters' stench;
Now that your trees
Have closed their ears
To the monotony of trite wind
And leaving of birds.

I miss you now.

17
TO A LAZY SOT

I know the way you feed

Your wife and children.
I see you asleep at daytime
As though it were night.
The bamboo floor complains
About your body weight
And length of unconsciousness.
You move and change position
To achieve the most comfortable stance,
And the kubo you have built for your family shakes,
And the loosely fastened or nailed structures creak,
And it irritates the lizards adopted by your hospitable
house.
The vacant, fertile backyard shouts to waken,
But you are deaf.
The tansan of newly opened liquor
Of your neighbor
Falls and touches the ground and clangs
And, now, cures your unique deafness
And wakes you up.
Your kumpare invites you for "one shot,"
But you violate some math rules
And equate one shot to two cuatro-cantos.
You come home zigzagging,
Uttering words not found in the sane vocabulary.
Before the door you throw up
And "feed" the dogs.
Your hungry wife screams in anger
And sets innocent, empty kalderos in flight.
18
OBSESSION

Beyond our consciousness

This vice really occurs;
Along our charted course
It hinders our saneness,
Filling our space in mind,
Turning our eyes to blind;

It seems impossible,
But we keep believing
Hoping, praying, waiting
That we may be able
To transform what we see
Into reality;

It makes us always ill

That no cure is present
But our dream's attainment;
We shall suffer until
Our desire or our greed
Is satisfied or fed;

We know it seems evil,

And we keep doing it;
But if all the mores hit
Our brain's single cell,
We'll find nothing is wrong
With it, so just be strong.

19
WHY THE LEAVES ARE GREEN

People call me as an insane

Sitting alone on the plain;

They say that I am very keen,

Asking why the leaves are green;

They see me look at the ocean,

They see me glance at the sun;

I am just a crazy pauper

For those who have no answer;

The leaves are green, God and I know:

Ocean's blue whilst sun's yellow;

Eureka! The leaves are between

Sun and ocean, so they're green.

20
THE DIM TORCHLIGHT

I never dreamed, but I dared

To hold the torch and light it;
I never said that I cared
But I let the night be lit;

I thought that it was easy

To spread the beams of torchlight,
So that young people could see
The antidote for twilight;

My clutching fingers held strong

Each had their own aptitude,
But they could not work for long
And with the same altitude;

The torch truly had its weight --

I and they felt the numbing,
Worsened by an empty plate
And our stomach muttering!

This deadened arm found cure

In the cold mediocrity
And in the hot flame (then pure)
Put out by mendacity;

I never thought it would be

A light to help in one's quest
For truth and to make him see
Dimly that we lost the best;
21
Futile is the torch that glows
Vaguely in this chancy time;
A crag is near, no one knows
Letting one trip is a crime;

The dim torchlight which we hold

Makes the night even darker,
For the promises it told
Whose success is yet yonder.

22
NATURE'S FABRIC

Amidst the bounties of nature

Lies a place for the heart so pure:

On the hill the grass feels the care;

On the trees the birds we can hear;

Along the creek the sweet spring flows;

Across the field the soft wind blows;

Over the plain the sun is bright;

The golden grains reflect the light;

Flowers in bloom diffuse their scent

That air can be as it was sent;

On the ground they all weave a home

Standing still in the years to come;

It nourishes the mind and soul

Like how the rain quenches the soil;

Let a pure heart grow in this kind;

Truth and bliss are what he shall find.

23
TRUTH

The sky is blue, so please do not lie.

If it is not, then we shall all die
Like Sampaguita when it is burned:
Its white petal is life; ash is death.
Stay thin, O cloud above the Earth,
So seeing the color is not hard.

Being low is not humility

When other lower eyes cannot see
The real colors of the ones that fly.
It is a wall of divisiveness.
Stay thin, O cloud below the sky,
So that the Earth can see real blueness.

But you are made of the way you are.

You could not hear the voice from afar.
The science of skepticism
Runs through your veins like the human blood,
Develops objectivism
Of how sky's hue may be understood.

As knowledge thickens, so does your doubt.

You hide the blue sky at day, O cloud.
You pretend to be stronger than wind.
But you fall down in the form of rain.
Many lower eyes you made blind
Now see that the sky is blue again.

24
ADAM'S REBIRTH

I opened my eyes and saw

An unfamiliar place. The noon
Sun was bright but less hot,
Peeping through the gaps

Between leaves of trees

Bearing fruits abundantly. The waves
And sands laughed at my nakedness
As they soaked my body

With cool relief from the pain

Of forgetting the past. I filled
My lungs with the freshest air
And did my first act of moving and walking.

Hermit crabs hid inside their

Borrowed mollusk shells. Didn't they
Want to see me? Or were they ashamed?
Or was that how they showed respect?

I heard the cheerful birds

Singing on the trees. I did
Not know if they were rejoicing for my coming
Or just for themselves.

Continuing my pace towards uncertainty,

A river crossed my path. There I
Quenched my thirst with clear
And sweet water.
25
I found myself sitting on a mossy
Boulder beside the river. I was
Surprised by the reflection on the water --
A woman sitting beside me.

I learned the words with her.

I learned to count the suns and moons
That passed by and the children
That I made with her.

We found the things which were

Safe and good for us
And for our children
And for our children's children...

Not knowing that

It was another beginning
And the best time and place
For which I must be thankful.

26
LEAF'S END

To tell you what my being

In this world implies
Is to brag myself.
And to brag is something
That never lies
In what my being implies.

Did you see that bird

Perching on a branch 'neath me?
Or those festive herd
Resting on a shade 'der my tree?
Or the green spots
Upon a painter's tour de force?

Feel how they feel,

See the difference they see
In this world with me.
Ask (for they have something to tell
About what my being does spell):
What boon does this leaf give
And how many?

27
THE POET

He is a painter, a painter of words,

Mixing his paints on the palette of thought,
Bushing his ken on the canvas of time,
With vibrant colors of meter and rhyme.
In his work an image of life is brought.
His idea extends to the other worlds.

When we look closely at his masterpiece,

An able mind is entailed to fathom
The depth of the imagery he formed.
His letters and symbols make us informed;
But he requires us to use our wisdom,
For they are not made to tell but to please.

But the metaphor does not satisfy

The sameness between him and the painter,
For the latter shows still pictures of life.
The poet resurrects past love and strife,
Makes an image a painter can't infer,
And augurs what things in the future lie.

On a culture ground this poet stands,

His ingenuity is torn by neglect
And some insensible priorities.
However, he knows these complexities.
He will continue to write and affect
Until everyone around understands.

28
SUBTRACTION

Nature can be expressed in terms of math;

'Tis full of quantities and relations
Bounded by the laws of interactions.
Endpoint implies our dream; segment, our path.
There are as many symbols that replace
As there are things in this wonderful place.

A plus signifies accumulation

Of things we desire and of friends we need,
Constancy of amount of which will lead
To a process called multiplication.
A plus is the most legal for the mind
'Cause it never keeps anything behind.

But everything has to undergo change;

We're bound by this law of the universe
That we can see something and its reverse;
Just as a domain produces its range,
One's gaining results another's losing.
Hating this we'll find us violating.

Nature is as compliant as we are;

We have a minus which means subtraction
Of something from our accumulation,
Like seeing true friends going home afar;
For memory 'tis the most illegal --
Putting this sign between minds is lethal.

29
WIND POWER

The flame stands straight

On a candle burning itself
In stillness of the night;
An old-authored book at the right
Side imitates the fate
Of a beggar's palms
Waiting for alms;

The candle and the book

Lie on the same nook
In the same room
Under the same roof;

The bitter air outside

Evolves into wind;
It permeates the bamboo walls
That keep nothing fake or false
(For there's nothing to hide);
Unable to read
It turns the pages;
Without a wish
It blows the flame out to darkness.

30
MY PROMISE

When everything around seems wrong,

You feel there's no one to belong,
You must not fear.
When doubts begin to reign your mind,
A truth will save you, and you'll find --
I am sincere.

When distance appears to part us,

And there's no bridge for words to pass,
I am still here,
Speaking the language of the heart.
The wind tells you, though we're apart
That I am near.

When time appears to move slowly

And waiting makes you feel weary,
Don't surrender.
As I have promised you before,
Bringing with me my soul and more,
I will be there.

31
DISPERSION

Light abiding by
The laws of physics

Journeys through space

Into the eye of a being.

The eye squints before

The dazing ray

As two opaque solids

Play between them.

The being was amazed by

The light's change in tint:

What is near is blood,

What is far is sky.

32
THEORY OF FINDING

Forget not to learn

To shout, my friend,
For the world we have now
Cannot discern
Or does pretend
That its vision is impaired;

Remember to shout
Louder, my friend,
For where'er you get lost,
To search you out
With a good lend
Of my ears has more success

Than has with my sight;

A missing sound
Is easier to find
Than a lost light;
Absence is found
More easily than presence.

33
RAINBOW CHASE

One morning, I had a cup of coffee

By the window of my hut at Lahong
Facing North. I let the air evolve into wind
From my mouth to the surface of the vaporizing
Liquid in the cup, forming waves,

And then took a sip.

The heat and the taste bit my tongue.

Ouch!
The sky was partly cloudy; it was raining
In the West whilst the sunrise shone in the East.

I took a sip.

I looked up in the sky and was pleased to see

A rainbow painted on the Western part.
Mamang always warned us not to point our fingers
To the rainbow because doing so
Would give us skin blisters.
Papang once told us that there is a pot of gold
On each end of the rainbow.

I took a sip.

The color of the liquid in my cup was pale.

So was its sweetness.
Poverty and frugality are twins.
It came to my mind:
34
The pot of gold on the rainbow's ends
Is the answer to this bland coffee.

I took a sip, the last sip.

I left the hut, treading westward,

Barefooted. Soft drizzle on my head.
Tacky mire on my feet.
I walked, walked, and walked
To Gacutan. I had seen one
Of the rainbow's ends on this place,
But it disappeared.

Noon came with raindrops

Falling on my head. No shelter.
No food. No rainbow.
On the grassy peak of a hill
I waited for the rainbow to reappear.
Soft drizzle on my head.
Cold wind against my skin.
Tingling touch of grass on my feet.

Afternoon came with sunset visible,

Giving warmth to my shivering lips.
The rainbow! There! On the East!
I saw one of its ends
On my hut at Lahong.

35
PENCIL ON CANVAS

Get a pencil
And a canvas,
And draw these:

A store with hung dresses

And displayed sandals;

The vendor at the left,

Holding a bottle of Coke
And putting bread
Into his mouth;

A child at the right,

Wearing a worn-out shirt and pants,
Looking grimly at the store,
Touching his abdomen,
Barefoot.

Do not add any color

For I see no beauty in it.

36
UNTHINKABLE

From this indeterminate point in the universe

These eyes roll in search for the bounds common
on earth,
Find nothing but fiasco in its immenseness
And believe that the Omnipotent gave it birth.

If I counteracted the state of the vacuum

And fell astray in space to no sure direction,
Would there be ground to catch me ad infinitum?
Could numbers manage to describe my position?

If energies could send this man light years away,

Passing by countless stars and galaxies,
From a distance where travel stops and I may stay,
Would the universe seem like an atom in space?

If we were ignorant of nuclear fusion

And believers of the sameness of fire and stars,
Could the sun last in its celestial dominion
Only with fuel that turns to ash as it sparks?

If the universe were a sphere and had an edge,

Would space and time still exist beyond that
border?
The answers must lie above the human knowledge,
And they shall remain hidden with God forever...

37
THE DYING BIRD

I knew I did nothing

But to fly, to sing,
To alight happily
On a branch of a tree.

Did my song hurt you?

Did I make something bad
As I perched and flew?

I knew I did nothing

But to fly, to sing,
To alight happily
On a branch of a tree

Why did you throw

A deadly stone towards me
Whilst I sang my favorite song?
I moaned as I fell.
The pain was too strong!

I beg, before you toast me

Let me first say:

"Oh, I'll miss you, my song,

For I can't sing you anymore.

"Oh, my friend Lonely Tree,

I'm sorry to tell you
That I can't be with you
38
To make you happy every day.

"Oh, my friend Strong Wind,

Keep on blowing
Even if you don't feel my wings,
For I can't fly with you again."

39
INFINITY

I lay on the turf

One clear night.

I turned the world

Upside down

And the sky

Into a black sea.

I rode in the expanse,

Paddling, and saw

Myriad flecks of luminescence below

Twinkling one behind another, and so on . . .

40
FULL REVERSAL

The Omnipotent Hand knows what is best;

Man sees himself and nature at blind spot.
Now in a sine graph we are at the crest.
Yes, a turning point is what we have got!

The Hand constructed a clean house for us,

But we cook what we eat in the fireplace.
The scented air turns into greenhouse gas,
Increasing the temperature in the space.

The Hand let the rain fall and river flow,

But we give them artificial flavors:
Rain gets an acid, river a shadow.
Sickening soft drinks have various colors.

The Hand gave us the land to tread upon,

But we make the wheels to send us away.
And we bite the dust; diseases have won.
We choose to die and not to walk a day.

The Omnipotent Hand showed us the sign

To bend the trend and take full reversal,
Like searching for the grapes, the source of wine.
Unless we go back, all shall be fatal.

41
BEACH SCENE

The sun was not shining

It was behind the clouds,
With sea gently rippling,
Rushing waves to the sands;

There on the sandy shore

I found myself wallow,
Like wanting something more
(And I saw my tears flow);

Near me were written words

Made by me on wet sand,
Words common to this world
But few could understand;

"I need love," Babe, it said.

In my heart it's the same
That tide tried to efface it,
But I was glad you came;

You came and beckoned me

To rise and look around,
And the sun shone freely
Hardened the brittle sand;

You replenished those words

And filled my needy heart
Before this life was drowned.
Thanks! You had known my want.
42
The place looked better now,
And everything seemed fine.
For you I made a vow
That I'd write a new line;

"I love you," it would read.

It'd be carved on the rock
So that no tide, no wind
Could ever blot it out;

There on the rocky shore

I found myself with you,
Loving you more and more
(Sweet smiles began to show);

On the rocks were carved words

Made by me; but you'll lead
Me how to chart the course
Where it's true till the end.

43
MOTHER'S LOVE

Little baby, lying in mama's arms,

Tell us how diff'rent her affection is
(Especially to those made deaf
In the arms of insolence);

Tell us that every word from her tongue

Is a berceuse, making you sleep
On the cradle of boon,
Not on the hammock of bane;

Tell us that every touch made by her hand

Is a panacea, making your withering hope
Prolong its life,
Making your dim future a golden sunrise;

Tell us that her every kiss

Wipes your tears away,
And her every hug
Brings you warmth and joy every day.

44
SIGNUM NATURALIS

When the morning sun ascends,

And the cocks begin to crow
Whilst the mists fall from a bough,
They welcome and wake us up;
So when you feel the sun's ray
'Tis time to rise and pray.

When the cloudy sky turns dark,

And the cold breeze starts to blow,
Sooner or later will show
Tiny showers we call rain;
So when the sky is gloomy,
Stay neath a canopy.

When the guava tree bears fruits,

Which then begin to ripen
And later become rotten,
It reminds us of seasons;
So when a near fruit turns sweet,
You must not miss a taste.

When the night closes the day,

And the stars start to frolic
To the cicadas' music,
They give a refreshing yawn;
So when the moon comes to peep,
You must now go to sleep.

45
I'VE ENTERED THE CHURCH THREE TIMES

I've entered the Church three times,

Only three times in my life;

I've entered the Church three times,

First time when I was baptized;

I've entered the Church three times,

Second time when I was wed;

I've entered the Church three times,

Last time on a coffin's bed;

I should have entered the Church

Every Sunday of the week;

I should have entered the Church

More times, but it is too late.

46
TIME TRAVEL

When a flower's petal falls to the ground

It shall never return for time is bound
To follow the path with one direction,
Like one-lane road, to prevent collision
Of mem'ries from the past and the future.
Yet all know that tomorrow is unsure;
Therefore no dream can ever come today.
Time moves, as in geometry, in a ray.
Almost everything is termed in science
Using ''now'' as the frame of reference.
Like the "time machine" not yet invented,
Time travel can't be done but can be said.
When played, an old favorite melody
Sends our time back to the past memory.

47
THE CANDLELIGHTS

Life on this world is like burning candles:

When a flame dies, there's one that rekindles;
While each stands, we see our youthfulness,
Shedding light and melting as time passes.
And whilst the top is away from the base,
Exude what brightness your clever mind says,
For a strong wind might blow one of these nights
And quench your fire and other candlelights',
Lest a faithful moth might become astray,
Tripping, and then taking her life away.
The time she rests on a leaf in heaven,
She'd thank you for the glow you have given.
Like from the greatest poets of this world,
We have found some wit through each written word.

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WHY DO THE GREEN GRASS GROW

Why do the green grass grow

And fill the fertile field?
Where'er man does not sow
They tend themselves and yield.

For when the rain would pour

And skate beside the hill,
They'd pave the fragile floor
To let the slope be still.

For when the weary feet

Walk by towards a home,
They'd serve to titillate
To let the sprain be gone.

For when a child would jump

To play luksong-tinik
And get a backside bump,
They'd weave a safety net.

For when a star would fall

To grant the wisher's dream,
The impact would be small
On land to break its beam.

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 II.
Filipino Poems

50
ISANG BINALK-AN

Mantsa sa aking paningin

Ang isang binaluk-an sa gitna
Ng aking bakuran. Kinimlit ko
Ito at itinapon sa dagat.

Pag-aari ko ang baybay, aking

Bakuran na ayaw kong pumangit
Dahil lamang sa isang binaluk-an.
Gabi ng araw na iyon, kapipikit

Ko pa lang ay giniba ng isang

Malaking alon ang aking bahay.
Lumabas ako dala ang ilawan.
Tumambad sa akin ang tone-toneladang

Binaluk-an na tumabon sa aking

Bakuran. "Isang binaluk-an lang
Naman ang itinapon ko ha!"
Kinaumagahan, dinalaw ko ang

Aking mga kapitbahay. Tumambad

Sa akin ang tone-toneladang
Binaluk-an na tumabon sa kanilang
Mga bakuran. Narinig ko ang

Kanilang nagtatakang
Mga dila,
"Isang binaluk-an lang
Naman ang itinapon ko ha!"
51
AANHIN PA ANG DAMO

Hoy, hangin, hanging malakas,

Tingnan mo ang punong matatag
Humalik sa lupa sa ihip mong marahas.

Sige, magsisi ka kung babait ang ahas.

Inuutusan mo ba ang bayaning malakas
Na kaniyang ibalik ang punong matatag
Sa dati nitong taas
At alisin ang sakit ng kaniyang dinanas?

Sige, ibahin mo ang iyong direksyon

Kung ito ay babangon
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?

Sige, dahan dahan ka sa iyong pag-ihip

Nang sa iba ay huwag nang maulit
Ang kaniyang sinapit.
Ano pa ang silbi ng iyong paglambing
Kung may dalamhati nang sa kaniya ay sumiping?

Sige, sisihin mo ang iyong sarili

Kung iyan ay bago pa mangyari
Eh, di mabuti!

Kung maingat ka lang sana sa iyong pag-ihip

Marahil wala siyang nadatnang ganoong kaysakit
At marahil hanggang ngayon ang punong marikit
Ay namumunga pa ng bungang kaytamis...

52
MAY ALIPUNGA KA PA RIN

Gusto ko sana'ng humanga sa'yo

Nang ika'y umalis papalayo
Inihakbang mo ang 'yong talampakang
Hubad na 'di kumikilala ng malagkit na putik
Makirot na tinik
At lupang mainit
Inabutan kita ng tsinelas
Nguni't sinabi mong kaya ng 'yong yapak
Kaya lang nang ika'y nagbalik
At nakabili na ng sapatos na orig
At sanay na ang mga paang
Nakababad sa ginto't pilak
Sa lupa dito, kahit tigang
Ay ayaw nang tumapak
Pinasasakay kita sa kangga
Nguni't ika'y tumanggi
Tumalikod at lumisan ka
Naghanap at sumakay ng kotse

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 II.
Minsbate Poems

54
PARA-MA

Bg-o magsrak an adlw

Ako mamat, mamhaw
Mkape maski na lasw
Makon maski na bhaw

Kag nakatklos sin sndang

Mangngul warn baidn
Bagn lagdi an gibng
Kag pun na sin kalwang

Pabukd warn tsinlas

Igwa man ako birigts
Sa tunk sa dlan samd
Sa nit san dt lumpt

Pag-abt sa kon um
An kon tanm luys na
Kay an dta mara-mra
Pn-o haray an sub

Kapagl san para-ma

Warn ni kapy ka pa
Pn-o an kon pamlya?
Nno'n ihtag sa nda?

Kapagl san parho ko

Kun gwa man ni ak
Bklon man per barto
An kpoy katmpar sntimo
55
Mapagl an para-ma
Per guinabton ko na
mo la in'n kon kya
Di na mahnap pa'n ib

56
SAN NA DLAN

Kun mag-gi ka
San na dlan
War na'n balkan

San na dlan
May pn san mngga
Na pun sin bnga

An na nag-gi
An pn guinygyog
Takdg pat ptot

Panduh nag-gi
Kay war na'n bnga
Dhon an guinp-p

Pantul nag-gi
Kay war na'n dhon
Pnit an guinkan

Pang-upt nag-gi
Kay war na'n pnit
Gamt an guinktkit

An lhi nag-gi
Kay war na'n gamt
Nagsup sin lpok

57

kurit
and other poems

SHERWIN E. BALBUENA

Edited by Dr. Renee A. Lamela

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