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.

Babaylan Speaks

Marcos:
listen
as Babaylan
speaks in tongues

Victoria's Not-So-Secret Secret

Aquino:
is
it on?
is it on?

Nixon:
not
yet. it's
scheduled for eight

Kennedy:
is
it that
time of year

Marcos:
I'm
afraid so;
Victoria's Secret Models.

A: where's
the popcorn?
where's the remote?

N: stop
hogging the
popcorn and remote!

K: give
it to
me. I control

M: no
you don't.
no one controls

A: the
models as
they ramp up

N: maybe
you all
should ramp downstairs!

K: I
love their
wings white feathery

M: wings
will be
good in pinakbet!

Pilipino Plu

Kennedy:
I
feel so
weak, so tired.

.....Marcos:
.....it's
.....the flu.
.....a Pilipino variant.

K: I
thought we
existed within dreams

.....M: Of
.....a Filipino!
.....His dreams are

K: more
real than
reality itself. How?

.....M: To
.....him Filipinos
.....live breathe exist

.....in
.....New York,
.....unlike the movies.

.....Filipinos
.....work in
.....butcher shops newspaper

..... stands
..... and in
..... Wall Street's halls .

.....Filipinos
.....are maids
.....and hobbits cooking

.....and
.....eating twelve
.....meals per day.


K: So
everyone else
is an object

subject
to the
whims of Filipinos?

.....M: And
.....you would
.....call me Dictator.

Fathers of Mulatto

Jefferson:
finally
I am
not alone anymore.

Thurmond:
what?
where the
hell am I?

you
are the
product of sin.

everyone
is product
of sinning cavorting.

yes
but hypocrisy
will follow everything.

her
name was
Carrie, beauty, light

her
name was
Sally, light, beauty

in
a different
time and place

if
I were
only stronger, better

against
rage, condemnation.
if only I

could
have done
what is right

instead
of what
is so easy.

regret
is everything
that I have.

everything
I have
is that regret.

Ode to Strom, Captivated by Jungle Fever!


Kennedy:
strom
thurmond is
just like us

Nixon:
a
crook by
any other name

is
the father
of a mulatto.

and
he ran
as a Dixiecrat!

once
jungle fever
gets you dancing

you
can't stop
working the help!

ow!
where is
he hiding now

I
believe Strom
was sent there

no,
not there!
surely a sin

like
that demands
a heavy price.

but
there? I
wonder why we…

specially
us. patron
saints of liars,

adulterers
hypocrites supreme.
we should visit

he
who walks
upright in heat.

madyong

Marcos:
compadre
join the
table for fun

.....Aquino:
.....Pinoy
.....game lambanog
.....and sour pulutan

Kennedy:
poker
in ivy,
champion of navy

.....Nixon:
.....five
.....card stud,
.....school ' hard knocks


click,
krick, bang!
oops! sorry! click

.....Aquino:
.....erect
.....the wall
.....of pearl teeth

Marcos:
counter
clockwise, roll
the fateful dice

.....Nixon:
.....count,
.....count. measured
.....steps for everyone

Kennedy:
lands
on me
thus I begin.

.....Kennedy:
.....one
.....ball, the
.....unity of all

Nixon:
east
wind, blowing
everyone's fate determined

.....Marcos:
.....Kang!
.....four of
.....a kind, luck.

Aquino:
seven
char, man
walking to heaven.

.....Nixon:
.....Pong!
.....three men
.....making dire choices

Marcos:
Green
dragon. the
winds with me.

.....Aquino:
.....two
.....character, bridge
.....to cross rivers

Kennedy:
Chao!
the straight,
one two three.

.....Winner:
.....madyong!
.....escalera while
.....picking nine sticks.