some lines...

midnight melody

kun sa matag nakong pagginhawa
ikaw ug ikaw ra ang hinungdan,

dili magduhaduha
kining akong kasing-kasing,

mosawm ko sa dagat
bisan pa man ang lawas
dili anad sa paglangoy

o kahay molupad ko
sama sa langgam paingon
sa iyang bay
bisan pa man og
pangitaon pa nako
ang akong pako.

ingon niana,
buhaton nako
bisan og unsa pa man
aron maduol kanimo

bisan gani ang pagkab-ot sa bulan
ug mga bitoon,
akong sulayan

alang kanimo.

kay sa matag nakong
pagginhawa
ikaw ang akong gipangita.


sa pagsilang ng umaga

hindi iindahin
anumang kirot,
hinagpis at pasakit

kung ang pagluluwal
ng isang umaga'y
bumubura sa bawat ala-ala
at humihilom sa mga sugat
mula sa kahapong
pilit nating nililisan.

ngunit hindi tiyak
itong paglimot.

hindi tiyak
itong ninanais na
lubusang paglimot.

hahayaan at ipauubaya
sa silahis ng araw
anumang kirot
na dulot
ng pagsilang ng
umaga

tiyak naman nito
ang pagbusilak
ng bagong panata
bagong pag-asa.

community- based.

killing you in my mind

i miss you.
terribly, terribly so.

though you have not touched me and i have not touched you for a long time,
believe it or not,
i can still smell your sweat on my chest, i can still feel you under me,
i can still smell your whole body.

it is true, i have memorized you. i have memorized your whole being that even from afar i can hear your heart beating, beating fast.especially in those dark quiet corners of the night.

and yet, goodbye.
i have learned to kill you everyday.inside my mind.

between the hills and the sea

between the hills and the sea,
your image appears
gracing the roads and highways
of a territory newly found
like a certain wind,
a beautiful wind.

and the clouds form pleasantly
your face
that has become familiar
in my every sunrise,
in my every dream,
in my everyday
filled by thoughts of you.

i touch the wind
and it seems like,
i am touching you.

today,
you have touched my heart
again.


July 13, 2008
Poetry on a busride
Negros Occidental

mindanao-bound.again.

the moment i stepped on my boat back to cebu on june 27in cagayan de oro, the first thing i uttered on the calm waves of the night sea was "i am coming back."

and i meant it.

eversince i arrived in cebu the next day, that was the thought that was primarily filling my everyday. and why not? mindanao is marvelous. northern mindanao is particularly captivating.

cagayan de oro for one, has enchanted my heart. the bridges at night spells magic on the air it soothes even the most tired souls. especially with wonderful people, of course. the first time i saw cagayan de oro some years ago, i instantly fell in love with it and few trips back later, i just knew i had to stay longer in this place.

iligan city, on the other hand has its own otherworldly feel. it’s like longing to be touched further, further, deeper into its core. the roads for me are mysterious. It has to be a place i should frequent.

camiguin of course, is breath-taking, no contest.

then there’s bukidnon, marawi, maguindanao nearby.each waiting to be loved more, each calling out my name as i was sailing away.

the truth is, i cannot explain why this strong longing to go back to northern mindanao. I really cannot come up with a really noble objectives. All i honestly know is, i git to be back there soon.

on the other hand, my bohemian spirit aside, i know i can do something worthwhile and relevant on that northern part of the south.

mindanao-bound.again.

returning

it is a bit funny how memories appear suddenly, sometimes.

it was raining hard this afternoon and i was walking down some roads and in the throng of strangers, i thought i caught a glimpse of you, in a red shirt and then everyhting flashed back to more than a year ago.

i saw you on the street, alone, it was night and we caught each other's sight and there was nothing more to say than an unfairly short hello and how are you.and you were wearing red.

it was so vivid this afternoon. how that memory appeared, in the midst of rain and one wrong face in the ocean of strangers. probably, it was a moment of memories returning. those strangers may have been having thir moments too with someone in their respective lives. perhaps, one of them mistook me for someone else, from a distance.

and then, as always, one memory appears after the other and quite rapidly. in my case, exhilirating. i tried to run away and found myself in a photo store. an old photo store.

i bought some rolls of films for my toy camera and ran towards the rain, i might be able to trap those memories if i click. through the eyes of the strangers that might have looked when i did.

and then i remembered one conversation, you were so disappointed i wasn't bringing a camera as we planned to go to an island.

ah, that afternoon rain. i should have stayed inside. it would have avoided memories of you returning.

tonight, i'd be sniling when i sleep. you appeared. and i am strong, i went through it.

but more than that, there will definitely be a dream of someone else.