Friday, August 28, 2015

People watching


PEOPLE WATCHING 
a haibun

A typical Sunday morning scene unfolds before me at my favorite fast food place. Seated together on the right table is a young couple evidently so much in love with each other, oblivious to other people around them while safely ensconced in their private world. Next, to their left is a father and his well-behaved daughter in her Sunday clothes, slowly munching her french fries. In between sipping her drink, she glances at her dad with a contented smile. During a lull in their eating, he gently brushes a wisp of unruly hair upwards to her child's forehead. 

On the next table are two middled aged men boisterously rummaging a found newspaper left on their table by a previous customer. One is looking for sales in a local store while the other is busy perusing the sports page. At the farthest table, an old couple, obviously married and used to each other's ways, are quietly eating with nary a conversation but with a happy and contented demeanor.

dining alone
I forgot to feel sorry
for myself

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Bilingual poems



Having constantly used a borrowed language since high school and beyond, I am sometimes torn by uncertainty as to whether to use one in favor of the other or end up writing in both idioms in my poetry. 

I like to think though that I have some readers who understand both Tagalog and English hence my decision to use both as much as possible. Any comments or feedback on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Here is a bilingual sample.

from a distance
at the appointed time
I wait for your glance
to bask once more
in your smile

Tagalog
sa abot ng tanaw
at takdang panahon
hintay and sulyap mo
nang muling mamasdan
and iyong ngiti

Published in my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Selected Haiku and Tanka poems, 2006-2011 A selection of over 200 haiku and tanka poems previously published in various online and print journals as well as book anthologies, written from 2006-2011.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Cinquain Trilogy



Because
I showed my grief
you were surprised yet knew
there's inner hurt gnawing inside
my soul.

But then
aren't we forced
by social norms to hide
our fears lest our loved ones suffer
from them?

I take 
my manly role
seriously as I can.
Yet do they know that I also 
feel pain?

From my book, RUSTLE OF BAMBOO LEAVES






Monday, August 3, 2015

CACTUS

the cactus plant
outlives and outlasts
even man himself
who then is the master
of the universe

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest
available at Amazon


Tagalog

ang cactus ay
nabubuhay nang matagal
sa tao, sino nga kaya 
higit makapangyarihan
sa mundo