To all my friends and followers of my blog, have a healthy and peaceful New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

To all my readers and visitors to my blog, have a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year! With this coming new year, I might not be able to post here frequently as I have started compiling my 4th book in time probably with my birthday. Do drop by once in a while and leave a note or two. Happy holidays everybody!!!

Death in the family

the autumn wind
scatters the dried leaves
in the family photo
his face is gradually
and slowly fading

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Brother's death

an old leaf falls

on the gentle prodding

of the autumn wind

unexpected news 

of my brother's death

BILINGUAL POEMS

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

https://www.createspace.com/3737478

Runaway daughter

fading fragrance
of wilted jasmine
runaway daughter

Sold house

Sold house -

Lingering a bit, my kids had to literally drag me out of the house which I sold but has not yet been occupied by the new owner. Earlier, I begged them to let me see our house for the last time. I had to get rid of it due to the passing of my wife with most of my children out and living on their own. Also, it was emotionally draining for me and I could not stand and bear to see, feel, and relive the decades of memorable experiences living there.

for the last time
I listen to the laughter
of my growing children
echoing from the rooms
of my just sold house

Her absence

the silent sound

of her absence

fills our room

only the echoes

of yesterday remain

from my book, 

Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Last embrace

(For my brother Gabriel who passed away two weeks ago. Rest in peace Bro!)

I know now

why our embrace

was so tight

your last farewell

to fleeting life

In my book,

Haiku and Tanka Harvest @ Dec. 2011

https://www.createspace.com/3737478

Football fever

football fever
time to separate the boys
from the men

Runaway Son

a torn kite flails 

in the telephone line 

their runaway son 

Published in 

World Haiku Review, April 2014

Obituary

humming their love song

she scans the obituary

once more

Lotus Festival

Lotus Festival

  

Not many summers ago, the annual observance of the Lotus Festival in Echo Park, Los Angeles, California was a mild disappointment, to say the least. The reason? No lotus flowers in the lake for unknown reasons. 

Considering that the reliability of their profuse blooming every summer is as certain as the traffic gridlock in the vicinity, visitors from within and outside the area were vocally disgruntled. Locals were at a loss on how to explain to their out-of-town friends the absence of the floral attractions.

                no lotus flowers
                in the murky water
                global warming here?

Published in World Haiku Review, August 2014

Writer's travail

War aftermath

hopping around

bomb holes and shrapnels

one-legged dove

Letter of goodbye

under the willow
she rereads his tear-stained
goodbye letter

Greener pasture

on to greener pasture

a family of geese flies over

the double barbed fence

Unkempt lawn

my neighbor mows

the grassy edges

of my unkempt lawn

in the shade I try to write

this friendship poem

From my book, 

Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Widower's gardeb

widower's garden
her roses blooms
side by side with weeds

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Hospice doldrums

hospice doldrums

she gazes at the bird

flying to sunset

Writer's travail

18th Birthday

eighteenth birthday

she dances with strangers

my daughter's daughter

if I feel such a pain

how about her father]

from my first book,
Rustle of bamboo leaves, ©2005

Like

Free-spirited

she dances

to her own music

my free-spirited

granddaughter

not unlike her mother

Loneliness

chilly night
under its darkness
hides my loneliness

Tagalog

gabing malamig
sa iyong dilim nagtatago
aking kalungkutan

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Discharged soldier

discharged soldier
he stares at his gun's barrel
to nothingness

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest
https://www.createspace.com/3737478

Almost dawn

almost dawn
she senses his coming
tiptoeing to their room
a strange perfume
ushers him in

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Nearing Home

nearing home

the sun starts to set

in my rear-view mirror

I've lived a good life

my cup overflows

from my book,

Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Mother's day

my daughter
invites me to brunch
this Mother's day
just for a tender moment
she's her late mother

from my book,
Rustle of bamboo leaves

Longings

dream demons
harass me all night
in my half empty bed
still waiting for you
all these years

Spring cleaning

spring cleaning

the first doll she gave

her newly-wed daughter

World Haiku Review
August 2012

Spring sunshine

spring sunshine
the toothless smile
of a homeless girl

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Easter Sunday

a morning glory
greets the early dawn
Easter Sunday

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Deadly typhoon

deadly typhoon

amidst scattered débris

a newborn cries

Last bus

last bus

his welcome flowers

start wilting

on the now

empty bench

Goodbye letter

under a willow

their favorite rendezvous

he rereads

her crumpled letter

of goodbye

Spring advent

spring advent
her love and orchids
are blooming

Dad's young wife

spring cleanup
she rips her Dad's photo
with his new young wife

In my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest
https://www.createspace.com/3737478

Earthquake

a mild earthquake

wakes me up today

but lulls me back to sleep

a harbinger

of what's coming?

Spring cleaning

spring cleaning

the first doll I gave

my newly-wed daughter

Lenten lesson

dust we are

to dust we shall return

lenten lesson

Writing senryu

writing senryu

everyday drives

my shrink insane

Suicide attempts

the widower explains
to his visiting son
why he chopped their shade tree
twice there, he drawls
I tried to hang myself

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest
https://www.createspace.com/3737478

Prayer garden

wrong entrance

from a hectic mundane world

to a soothing, quiet place 

where time stands still -

a prayer garden

My Valentine

Full moon

full moon

and empty arms

oh it's so hard

to fill the void

you left behind

Aloneness

yearning for her touch
even in my dream
so long this dark night

Marital quarrel

marital row
the silence between them
is deafening

Tagalog

away mag-asawa
ang katahimikan ng dalawa
ay nakaka-bingi

Forbidden love

the entwined

rose and ivy

hanker for the sun

the vicissitudes

of forbidden love

Aloneness

alone once more
the cold night lingers
too long

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Apocalypse

near apocalypse
a meteor just missed
the earth again

Nature's fury

man's ingenuity

still no match

to nature's fury

Tagalog

ang galing ng tao

di makakapantay

sa lindol at bagyo

Wilting bouquet

after the last bus
without her again
his welcome bouquet
left on the bench
starts to wilt