Musicophilia

Musicophilia
Picture taken from the wall of The Mind Museum at BGC. The blog name "Poetophilia" was inspired by Oliver Sacks' book Musicophilia.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Anak Ko, Dahan-dahan (Ambahan)

Ang tulang ito ay binigyan ng ikalawang gantimpala mula sa Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center noong ika-10 ng Abril 2013.

Anak ko, dahan-dahan
Palayan ay pagmasdan
Doon sa kapatagan
Pagtubo ay tuluyan
Huminto’y ‘di paraan
Hihintayin anihan
Sa init ng araw man
O sa bagsak ng ulan
Anak ko, anak naman,
Bakit ka nagkaganyan?
Ina mo’y ‘yong pakinggan
‘yong munting kahirapan,
Galit o kahinaan,
Alisin sa daanan
Tanggalin sa isipan
Problema’y kalimutan
Kabataan ay minsan
Buhay mo’y ‘yong taniman
Huminto’y ‘di paraan
Hintayin ‘yong anihan
Harap kinabukasan
Anak ko, dahan-dahan
Ngayon, magpakailanman

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

“Draw” Close to Me



Graphite against a flush warm sheet of white
Smothery from a huddle of thin gray lines
Misshapen to form an artificial image of me

Every stroke you give my simplest displeasure
Frozen, I watch you sketch this figure carefully
Your fingers lift a craggy mass of twig, a pencil

Look up, my love, look up again
But still, you look at the drawing
Every surface and curve you draw so well
So close, you form each angle of me so perfectly
So far away from me,

My shoulder, my hand,
Your head leans against the easel
Your face touches the paper where you draw

So far away from me, yet so close to another 
So close, the tip of your pencil punctures my heart
And they both break with a hole on the paper