Cherry Blossoms

outside
my window
cherry blossoms bloom

Eating Eternity

crack
the balot
at the flat.

gently
remove shells
from eternity's truth.

in
three moves:
suck… bite… bite.

Twenty minutes to Perfection

twenty
minute(s)
to cooked perfection.

twenty-eight
days for
pecking, strutting ambulation.

just
a fraction
for aphrodisiac construction.

Floating Balot

two
out of
twelve. that's all.

to
float, to
fly, nearly impossible.

why?
why only
some, not all?

Balut-na-ku

*Ruminations on a Pin@y lifestyle using the haynaku form.*

how
long before
it explodes? Boom!

flying,
swimming debris
of duck embryos

just
a careless
look at time.

birthdays

M:
miss
the days
when I aged

A:
when
everyone made
a terrible fuss

M:
ice
cream cradled
between lips, tongue

A:
candles
glowing for
a moth's notice

M;
miss
the mortality,
the everyday changes.

Pumpkins

Marcos:
what
is a
jack of lantern

Aquino:
just
a vegetable
without its insides

Marcos:
and
they carve
vegetables into monsters?

Aquino:
apparently
the world
can't get enough.

Beauty

Marcos:
why
is beauty
the only thing

that
matters in
my children's minds?

Aquino:
they
simply follow.
it is difficult

to
create anew
to think boldly.

Marcos:
with
each passing
day, one must

be
bold, strong
in the mind!

Aquino:
years
of toil,
years of trouble

has
a way
of softening minds.

Marcos:
i
did try
to lead them

to
a path
full of strength.

Aquino:
but
sometimes, strength
alone is not

sufficient.
you need
compassion, a weakness.

Kili-Kili Means I Love You

kili-kili
is "I
Love YOU" dear

because
kili-kili makes
your armpit the

center,
the joy
of my life.

Something or the Other

Apparently, the aroskaldo was well appreciated.

Aroskaldo

search
far and
wide: the internet

for
ratios that
denote the mean

minced
garlic means
breath of life

chopped
ginger, a
memory of kisses

chicken?
modernity's disdain
for yesterday's leftovers.

Reagan's Rebirth

Marcos:
another
one transitions
from life's quest

Kennedy:
rediscovering
memories long
forgotten, long absolved

Aquino:
is
his heart
lighter than feather?

Nixon:
who
cares? I'm
no rookie anymore.

Subways

Subways

Aquino:
where
are we
going again Manong?

Marcos:
to
Times Square,
to the subway

A:
why
do we
walk ten blocks?

M:
we
walk to
know the city

A:
sidewalks
stink of
refuse strewn about

M:
gentleman's
clubs invite
men to sin

A:
24
hour delis
feeding humanity's hunger

M:
grates
spewing steam,
awakened spirits rising

A:
graffity
testaments of
living with abandon

M:
we
walk to
see the truth.

Falujah, Iraq

Marcos:
bodies
are dragged
through the streets

Aquino:
man's
inhumanity is
breathtaking to see

Marcos:
Falujah,
Bosnia, Rwanda,
Samar, Mississippi, Argentina

Aquino:
we
kill to
survive another day

Marcos:
kill
to balance
scales of justice

Aquino:
kill
to purify
our very sins

Marcos:
the
deaths are
mere stops signs

Aquino:
a
brief respite
from cruel Life.

Philippine Democracy

Aquino:
it
is hopeless.
I am resigned.

Marcos:
That
is why
you were shot.

A:
You
ordered your
goons to shoot.

M:
I
did not!
Someone else did.

A:
Your
cronies or
yourself, same thing.

M:
Fernando
Poe Jr.
is a hiccup.

A:
FPJ
will continue
incompetence and corruption.

M:
He
might, he
might not. He

A:
will
not be
his own man!

M:
But
the Philippines
possesses true democracy.

A:
This
is not
what I envisioned.

M:
No,
it is
not an ideal.

A:
Erap
and FPJ
are merely puppets.

M:
But
the masses
voted for them.

A:
The
people as
masses are fools.

M:
The
masses woke
and left me.

snow upon souls

Kennedy:
come
on, the
snow is powder

Nixon:
snow
washes all
of my sins

Marcos:
i
tried to
make snow once

Aquino:
you
invited my
family to ski

Kennedy:
powdered
snow is
a woman's kiss

Marcos:
the
cold invades
senses, heart, mind

Aquino:
snow
is god's
memory failing imperceptibly

Nixon:
shed
like antlers,
a lonely memory

Kennedy:
enough!
put on
your skis, follow!

Aquino:
can
souls break
legs while remembering?

Nixon:
only
for a
moment, not unlike

Marcos:
those
alive who
endure life knowingly.

A Flip Flipping on Snow

First
there was
snow. Then there

was
sky. There
was snow again.

Spot

Kennedy:
run
spot run!
Marcos wants azucena!

Marcos:
americans!
always flinching
even before trying

K: look
at the
world – American image

M: yes!
injustices masquerade
as grand achievements!

K: Philippines
an example
of American achievement

M: true,
my accomplishments
are half American.

K: American
democracy thrives
around the world .

M: America
strives to
give to the world.

K: America
is like
the world's shepherd.

M: and
the wolves
in shepherd's clothings?

Marcos:
what's
the big
deal with breasts?

Nixon:
everyone
has a
set of hooters.

Kennedy:
not
all breasts
are created equal.

Aquino:
no,
some are
to be treasured.

Marcos:
Janet
Jackson only
showed a star

Kennedy:
too
short too
little too small

Aquino:
for
the FCC
way too much

Nixon:
bunch
of fools
those FCC folks

Marcos:
they
should focus
on important things

Kennedy:
not
the bob
of a boob.

New Year's 2004
Kennedy: what
happened? last
I remember, Marilyn

.....Nixon: Marilyn
.....was here
.....dancing with me!

Marcos: blame
Ninoy. he
sent Marilyn packing.

.....Aquino: Jack
.....kept shouting
.....for doggie style!

Nixon: I
remember that!
he was hyperventilating

.....Kennedy: forty
.....years of
.....not seeing, touching

Marcos: can
drive a
man to tears

.....Nixon: So
.....long. forty
.....years of yearning,

Aquino: and
Jackie? She
deserves more respect.

.....Kennedy: man
.....can love
.....more than one.

Marcos: perhaps
you speak
of desire, lust.

.....Aquino: marriages
.....are sacred
.....sanctified by God.

Nixon: however
we have
passed the veil

.....Marcos: the
.....mortal coil
.....no longer inhibits.

Kennedy: to
be alive
and to desire

.....Marcos: is
.....torture. but
.....there are advantages.

Aquino: (smiles)
pulutan doggie
style is here.