Kissing shadows

"kissing shadows"


the doorway bleed silhouetes
that take the form of your face
i kiss the floor and all its shadows
smothered in dust
-- the tang of red wax grips my lip

Sweaty beer bottles

this is for my friend arnold galicia

Sweaty beer bottles
by paolo macariola

it was a damp night
colder than the tears that refuse to fall
from the moonscape of clockwork
that color the moon
with patterns of solitude

your face takes up all the shadows
of a fragmented past,
of an untimely death
that emmits lines of pain
dripping from sweaty beer bottles

empty silhouetes embrace the night
covered with haze

it was a damp night that same night
you left for the streets
carrying along your old toothbrush,
clothing articles, some money and maybe
pieces of memory

your face bows down from the moonlights weight
that further dampens the mirror in your eyes
surrounded by lines of solace
and patterns of depair
that drips from sweaty beer bottles

empty silhouetes embrace the night
covered with haze

it was a damp night
but no mortal tear would roll on your cheek
that would further dampen your footsteps
you slowly walk away
trailing wet cigarette butts

your mother's hands
pulsate through sweaty beer bottles
as you celebrate fiesta with us
at least you'd be numb and blind
from the chilling darkness
of your defeat,
of your solitude

empty silhouetes embrace the night
covered with haze
dripping from sweaty beer bottles

shit im so bitter today,....

"mapait ang ulan"

"mapait ang ulan"

naliligo ako sa ulan
upang mapuno ng tubig ang aking damit
at lalo pa itong yumapos sa aking katawan
dito ay mababasa ang aking buhok
at dahan dahang gagapang ang tubig sa aking mukha
tatahakin nito ang aking pilikmata, babagtasin ang pisngi
sabay magbababad sa aking labi -- mapait pala ang ulan

tumitingala ako
para mamasdan ang maiitim na ulap
hitik na pala sa anino at ingay ang paligid
kaya ipinipikit ko ang aking mga mata
upang mas namnamin ang pait
na humihilamos sa aking mukha

ako'y naligo sa ulan
maya maya'y pipigain ko na ang hinagpis na kumapit sa aking damit
huhugasan ang aking buhok ng nakakasunog na kemikal
at kikiskisin ng mabahong sabon ang aking katawan
pupunasan ko na rin ang aking balat at magpapalit ng damit
ramdam ko pa rin ang nanyaring paggapang sa aking mukha,
pagbagtas sa pisngi, pagbababad sa labi

muli akong maliligo sa ulan
pikit ang mata
yakap ang pait

the secret of summer's 23rd

this is for rodine cagampan


we descend unt this chamber
away from the sun
as we did on summer's 23rd
arms locked, gasping for breath

we accuse ourselves
of shaping our own pain
trying to chisel away the marks
left by our lips
the sun could not burn away
the stencils of the skin

and as the glamour spell reaches
its peak and whizzes out
the door, left ajar by the oglers
shall we seek redemption once more?

to engage once again in this hopeless dance
and renew the marks left by our lips
descending away from the sun
and again shape our own pain
as we did on summer's 23rd
arms locked, gasping for breath

inipong lagablab

this is for mhlq rodine cagampan


isang lawa ng apoy ang umagos sa aking likuran
naglalagablab, napakainit
ramdam ko ang pagkatuklap ng aking balat
at pagkaluto ng aking laman
na tumagos hangang buto
at tinupok ang aking kaluluwa
inalay mo sakin ang pinakamalayong bituin
taglay ang init na lulusaw sa pinakamatibay na kalasag
o kahit pa sa napakatigas na bato
iyong nilunod ang pighati sa lumalagitik na apoy
hangang sa itoy naging kulay pulang usok na lang

inaako ko ang lahat ng abo
pati na rin ang mga bagay na hindi pa tuluyang natutupok
masunog man itong mga daliri
maging sariling libingan man ang lagablab

akin na ring aangkinin ang apoy
ang uling at ang mga nagbabagang bato
ang pighati, kalungkutan, ulap, araw
luha, dugo, puso
ito'y aangkinin kong lahat
ito'y aangkinin kong lahat
hangang sa ako'y maging kulay pulang usok na lang
mula sa isang lawa ng apoy
na nangaling sa iyong mga mata

Writer's redemption

melancholy on the wall
cast by the muted shadows
your soul is shapeless
recalling exestence
hungry for defeat
in the candlelight luster of burnt metaphors
vision is reinvented, a bleeding butterfly
flutters and is decanted in the corners
the moan of a thousand violins gauzes the air
you listen yet you fail.
conjuring the inimagined
seeking to hear the voices of poe, homer and joaquin
deafening prose and history, leaving marks
as that of falling rain, becomes legible
and surrenders; blood or sweat?
you ask for forgiveness from meaning
from words in alphabetical symmetry
in the silence of your thoughts
deep within the flooded jungles
you stare past beyond the transparent
and yes you remember
you remember all of this
at the wake of your mortality