A Pause in Time

A PAUSE IN TIME

by Victor P. Gendrano

Tarry a little while

and let those jaundiced eyes

pierce the unseen wonder

of nature's bounteous beauty

which in civilization's 

suicidal dash to extinction

neither could pause nor ponder

or otherwise reflect on the

spontaneity of the moment

or the cherished charm 

of a dew-draped flower

the mesmerizing melody of a song

the wishful whispers of a sigh or

a budding brave and shy smile

For once

let feelings and emotion

reign supreme over reason

and embrace these arrested

moments like long-lost lovers

Then let the soul sustain

itself of those magical moments

pulsing with life again.

In my book, RUSTLE OF BAMBOO LEAVES

 http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/246155

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

Inspired by titillating and tragic news headlines some time ago, I wrote the first two related tanka and posted them in the Summer Haiku Blog, a world-wide community of poets with the common love of the Japanese poetic forms. Then I added the third and fourth ones  later after a similar headliner.

she gunned him
in his sleep
as she can’t bear 
to share her lover
then she killed herself

mystery solved
he disappeared
only to admit later
he’s with his other love
living abroad 

their vow of love
remains unbroken
to the very end
when both submitted
to euthanasia

she with terminal cancer
he with hale heart who chose
to die with her together
in a foreign hospital
sanctioning self immolation

While having dessert in a restaurant after a late lunch, I wrote these lines on the back of the sales receipt, fresh from the memory of the poems I wrote above. 

Being a wordsmith that I am, my poetic persona meandered to a familiar magical and homey place where the past and the present mesh and time stands still. With just a bit of remembered lives or events, an avalanche of words spews out from nowhere and weaves themselves into a poem, like this one. 

the entwined ivy
and blooming rose
reach for the sun
the entanglements
of forbidden love

REMEMBERING 9/11

REMEMBERING 9/11

A haiku sequence

simple math

six hijackers

to six thousand dead

innocence crumbles

among New York rubble

September rain

patriotic fervor

the geraniums

remain in bloom

blood-stained sun

sinks in the rubble

twilight of hopes

the Vietnam vet buys

red, white and blue tulips

memorial garden

In my book, Rustle of bamboo leaves

but first published in

World Haiku Review

Vol. 1, Issue 3, November 2001

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

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

"Haiku and Tanka Harvest" by Victor P Gendrano

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.

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

http://www.lulu.com/shop/victor-p-gendrano/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/paperback/product-246155.html

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