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I get it,
I don’t need him.
I get it,
He’s not worth it.
I get it,
He shouldn’t stop me.
I get it,
I shouldn’t worry about him.
I get it,
He never loved me.
I get it,
I get it.
 Mar 2019 LAMOK2019
Kimberly Lore
In college, I had a friend that we called 'dad'
Because he made awful jokes and puns
And he herded us wild things
But whenever we came back
From holidays you could expect
That all of your knickknacks
were on your bed artfully arranged
And when you were down
He would commandeer
My roommate's horse puppet
(Yeah, you read right, she had a horse puppet)
And do voices and 'bite' you
Until you complied
 Mar 2019 LAMOK2019
Jun Lit
Damgo
 Mar 2019 LAMOK2019
Jun Lit
Gipukaw ko
sa akong damgo
Morag langgam nga ilo
sa salag nga gigubâ sa bagyo.
Ning-syagit ko
ug ngalan nimo

Ning-abut na ka abi nakò
Dinhi sa tapad ko
Akong gitan-aw,
wa may tawo
Ang habol pilô gihapon,
bugnaw maski gaksun nakò

Uli na langga,
mingaw na kaayo.

PANAGINIP (Tagalog translation)

Nagulantang ako
ng aking panaginip
Parang isang ibong ulila
sa pugad na sinira ng bagyo
Isinigaw ko
ang pangalan mo

Dumating ka na akala ko
Dito sa tabi ko
Tiningnan ko,
wala namang tao
Ang kumot tiklop pa rin,
malamig kahit yakapin ko

Uwi ka na mahal,
Sobrang lungkot na dito.

DREAM (English translation)

In a flash, awakened
by a dream, saddened
like a bird orphaned
in a nest the storm had downed
Your name
I called out loud

you have returned, I thought
here by my side, I sought
to feel and I looked, at once
but there was naught
the blanket still neatly folded
and, even as I hugged it, cold as dead  

Come home now my dear
It’s become so lonely here.
My first attempt to write a poem in Cebuano, one of the major native languages in the Philippines; as a native Tagalog speaker, this is one big leap.
 Mar 2019 LAMOK2019
Jun Lit
Paalam na muna, sinisintang toyò
Childhood sweetheart kita, karibal ng tuyô
Pero wala sa usapang mayro’ng dugo
ng obrerong sa alat mo’y ihahalo.

Di ko maatim na sa kanin kong puti
Iwiwisik kita, habang may lugami
sa mababang sahod, sa dusa’t pighati
Kapalit ng yaman ng sa ‘yo’y may-ari.

“Bukas na lang kita muling mamahalin”
Kung sakaling katarungan ay dumating
Kontraktwalisasyo’y tila almuranin
Kamandag sa buhay nitong bayan natin.

Translation:

We’re on a cool-off, Soy Sauce

Well, it’s goodbye for now, dear soy sauce brand, unspilled
You’re a childhood sweetheart, rival of dried fish grilled
But unjustly having lowly workers’ blood spilled
It’s not part of the deal, your salty taste concealed

It really is just hard to bear to sprinkle you
on my white rice, while those who toiled to see you through
suffer deeply in wages low, mis’ries undue
amidst the wealth, so huge, of those few who own you

Love you again, oh tomorrow, maybe, I will,
if fortune brings that sweet justice to hands that mill.
Contractualization’s a serpent waiting still
To our dear people’s life, a venom meant to ****.
This poem was inspired by the current campaign in the Philippines to boycott certain brands of condiments, whose owner-company has for many years unjustly treated workers, on a seemingly endless contractualization scheme, with low wages and no security and benefits. Their demands have been met with violence, with the support of armed men purportedly connected with local police.

— The End —