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Jan C Aug 2022
akin, sa atin, sa kanya, wika ng bansa
ikaw, ako, ikaw, siya, gamit natin kung saan man mag *****
ilokano, bisaya, cebuano
ilonggo, bicolano, maski tagalog oh.

Gamit sa pang araw-araw na gawain
nag-imbento ng sariling salitain
ngunit hindi mag babago ang aking pag-tingin
ikaw pa rin ang wikang mamahalin

Pangako na ibibigay sayo ang mundo,
ibibigay ang lahat sa’yo kahit mula sa kabilang dulo.
wikang ipinag tanggol ng mga pilipino
hindi ko papabayaan maski kalimutan ka ng buong hukbo

Wikang ginagamit ng lahat
tagalog, mahal at tapat
sa dinami-daming wikang nagkalat
tagalog, ang wikang para sa ating lahat
Wika bilang instrumento, komunikasyon at wika bilang kasangkapan(read, equipment) sa pagtuklas at paglikha
sometimes i get
suicide bombers, rapists, killers, robbers and thieves
because their motives are visible through their actions.

but i never once in my life
bothered understanding businessmen, pastors, priests, muslims, religions, politicians,
and people whose motives in life
remain hidden
until caught red handed,
and also those people
who choose not to see the world naked for what it is.

maybe the UP activists are right
and that i shouldn't think of them as brainwashed kids or
just paid heads to do
what they do but their actions,
my thoughts and this poem
doesn't change anything.

i bet 100% of you
who are reading this would either think i'm deranged or seeking for attention.

i could go on and on writing
this **** and explain thoroughly
but the people's brain
are now wired to ex b's
hit single and yes,
mentioning that made
this a little bit funny but no.

as a ******* filipino
who should be typing this in tagalog, working overseas,
i've seen some fellow countrymen showed some pride
against their oppressors
from work but they don't get anywhere but jail.
i must've forgot,
the movie about manalo
trampled the one
about heneral luna.

see how helpless
we are in reality?

what's your photo that comes
with a bible verse got to do with others?

are you spreading
the word of God?
what does it do to you?

Sometimes I get
The New People's Army.
But I don't get Muslims
who runs businesses and the Chinese too.

Sometimes I wish
I could spread fake news
that doesn't harm others
and last but not the least,
I hope someday the world would stop not and smoke Marijuana all
at the same time
including North Korea.

I couldn't stop.
I also hope that these people,
those who has a lot of followers
use the attention properly but no, people are so ******* dumb and Salinger is right with Holden's, "People never notice anything"
and nothing's too big
if people will stop creating bigger things that'll only add up to the congestion clogging up the world.

and Allen Ginsberg is right,
we are breaking our
******* backs just to lift ******* Moloch.

**** your Mosques, your INC branches, your corporations, your religions, your borders and divisions, your trends that kills the minds of the youth.
**** your laws, about making Marijuana illegal.
**** your disguise and your intelligence.

I almost believe world cleansing is the answerbbecause the ant colonies are so much better
ruling the world.

I don't know anymore, my smartphone's ******
and I am not smarter. . .
solEmn oaSis Jan 2020
Kung ako ang siklab
Tiyak ikaw ang dagitab
Na buhay na buhay sa pinakamadilim na karimlan
Na siyang nag-aangat sa mga anino na kay pino at may likas na talino

Kung ako ang ningas
Nararapat lamang ikaw ang hangin at simoy
Hindi nabago at malaya na naging tanggulan...
Dinuduyan ang kasanggulan.
Para lamang malinang at kalingain
Upang sa gayon ang naturang ningas ay magliyab at maging isang apoy !

Kung ako ang pagpapalitan at pagkakaisa
At halos nga ay kapwa pawiin...
Ikaw dapat ang gabay at kamay
Na may tangan ng tiwala at paniniwala...
Naghihintay ng sandali at tiyempo
Upang maihanay ang iyong sarili sa ritmo at tono
Nang sa gayon magagawa nating...
Maipagpatuloy ang
Pagputok ng sulong sinindihan hanggang sa maging ilaw.
At muli magagawa nating...
Balikan ang sinimulang paglalakbay pasulong kalakip ang tatag at tibay

Mula sa gitna ng kadiliman
Tayo nawa ang maging malinaw
Gaya baga ng dulot ng kinabukasan.
Hawak-kamay tayo, iyan ang kailangang mangibabaw...
Sapagkat sa ating pagsusukob...
At tanging sa ating pagsusukob,

Tayo ay....

maliwanag na maliwanag .

Manigong bagong taon sa lahat!!!


*ryn's incandescent translated to tagalog by: solEmn oaSis
At Maligayang buwan ng mga puso
Ngayong 2020 punan ng pag-ibig ang sulo
JOJO C PINCA Nov 2017
Ganito s'ya ipinakilala ng Supremo:

Mga kapatid
narito ang isang binata
estudyante ng Letran at Sto. Tomas
magaling na manunulat
makisig at walang takot
isang tunay na Tagalog
na umiibig ng tapat sa Inang Bayan.

Ngayong gabi
sa ating pagpupulong
s'ya ay ating tatanggapin bilang kasapi
at hihirangin na maging isang kalihim.

S'ya ang susulat
ng mga dokumento ng kilusan
magiging aking kanang kamay
at utak ng katipunan.
simulan ang ritwal at ang sanduguan.

Kapatid na Emilio
binabati ka ng lahat ng katipun
mula ngayon hindi kana tatawagin na Jacinto
kundi Pingkian na
yan ang rebolusyunaryong sagisag mo sa kilusan.
Louise Jul 2024
If the green waves in Siargao
and the blue swells in La Union
could meet somewhere and speak,
what would they talk about?
In what language, even?
Ilocano? Bisaya? Tagalog? Español?
Or perhaps the better question is;
what would they 𝘯𝘰𝘵 talk about?
If the waters of Siargao could introduce itself
to the northwest wind of La Union,
I think,
they would create waves more gigantic
than Bondi or Nazare.
And if the eastern Pacific wind of Siargao
kiss the West Philippine Sea beside La Union,
I believe,
they would cause tsunami bigger than Japan's.
The waves would be bigger than anywhere else,
together they would be the best.
Or they could be the worst.
And so God willed La Union in the northwest,
and Siargao further down south in Mindanao.
And so they could not speak, meet and kiss...
Not a phrase you will ever know
A phrase from a language too unknown to show

I speak many languages
From Chinese to French
Not one fluently but more than the last

I could tell you in many languages
From Chinese to Hungarian
Not one fluently would help more than the last

I could answer in many languges
From Chinese to Spanish
Not one could help answer your question more that the last

I could lie in many languages
From Chinese to Filipino Tagalog
Not one should mean anything more than the last

Not a phrase you will ever know
A phrase from a language too unknown to show
But since you asked, I am;
Shāngxīn, triste, szomorú, trastornado
brandon nagley Aug 2015
I shalt weareth a barong Tagalog, mine tribesgirl in terno dress
A diadem upon her head, hemmed from living amongst the dead;
Her inferno blaze, is satin oriental sheathe, rubies on her Lilly feet, she entranceth me, in serpahim seed, a muse to mine meet.

She's Dalisay, in night and day, her Kinaadman not of earth
A child from tropical tree's, I kneweth her, cherub baby by birth;
The Tadhana of ourn creator, stitches ourn etching realm's
I shalt be her on her side, In death and hell, I'll taketh the ride,

Falling deeper
                         Into her eye's......


©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poets poetry
©あある じぇえん
Barong Tagalog is an upper garment and known as the formal men's wear of the Philippines. The Barong Tagalog has a long tradition of more than four centuries. It's used in many different countries like middle East and India with no collar on them.. Soo beautiful looking ......as I have one or two...
The terno (from Spanish for "matching") is a type of Philippine traditional dress for women that is worn on formal occasions. It is a one-piece long dress with butterfly sleeves.
Dalisay- means pure or undiluted.
Kinaadman- means knowledge or widom in Filipino tongue
Tadhana - means the invisible force that makes things happen beyond the control of mortals..
brandon nagley Aug 2015
Eastern surveyor's
Dancing across mine face,
Her pucker's move
In Tagalog groove;
Heaven at mine bedside
She awaiteth.



©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poet's poetry
©あある じぇえん
Mysterious Aries Jan 2016
Time, transformed me

Heal every touched of rage

All failures that rub me

The wound of my past



Teacher, modified me

Teached me the right path

The lane for a healthier tomorrow

For me to define this life with a better meaning



My friend, changed me

Picked up my wobbly hand

Give mind advice to cure its unrest

I want to feel your positive outlook



My dearest, refined me

Let me feel that genuine affection

Not the phony hugs and kisses

For my body and lips to attained true love



Lord, enlightened me

I was lost in intersecting road

Please display the right ladder

To the place where you are





From my tagalog poem: Baguhin Mo Ako

Translated: 1-18-2016

Mysterious_aries
MK Oct 2013
I feel like I've seen you a lot recently

I saw you at the mall once, but you were older and working at a teriyaki place in the food court; you were still working hard, but the sweat came from the steam while you were frying strips of beef and vegetables and shrimp instead of while you were outside in an apple orchard during the day
You still had the same smile, and you’d try to say thank you in Tagalog, even though you butchered it a little and I didn't know how to say you’re welcome without sounding foreign too.

I saw you on the bus, but your nose and eyes seemed bigger than I remembered and your voice a little louder and you've made friends with a bus driver I had never met. When you looked at me, your eyes widened in what I think was surprise—I can’t tell, because I looked away too fast
You talked about a job I didn't quite hear, and you stood for a long time—did you grow taller since I last saw you? Your uniform was mostly red, and it was kind of different than your usual black and white attire. I liked you better in those colours, I think.

There was a book I loved because it reminded me of you, but it also reminded me of me in all the wrong ways and either way I can’t help but feel sad whenever I read it
The first time I read it I couldn't stop crying, it was as if the author knew of us and told a version of our story, except in his version you were coming back to me
August 23, 2013
© MK
brandon nagley Dec 2015
i.

Indue me with thine habiliment made of amethyst silk,
Certes; mine is thine as thine is mine. The firmament shalt one day disintegrate, and the moon wilt not shine.

ii.

Erelong, mine love, erelong, we shalt be cometoid's cavorting
To drum's of virtuous beat's; except in the kingdom wherein we'll stayeth, there shalt be paved golden way's upon the street's.

iii.

O' Tagalog beauty- taketh all of me, subdue me when I am down and wearied, broken and teary, as this ground hath creature's hand's reaching up to claw and scratch;

iv.

I shalt thole the many great length's between ourn ocean's
I shalt waiteth yonside this distance, and holdeth on to thine
Loving potion; if it taketh eternity, I promise queen,
I'll get there, by boat's of steam, or flying machines-
Whether chariot, or unearthly saucers. I wilt get there,
Mine Filipino rose; God's chosen daughter.



©Brandon Nagley
©lonesome poets poetry
©Earl Jane Nagley dedicated ( Filipino rose)
Indue is archaic for - to clothe or to dress one..
habiliment is - clothing...
Certes- is archaic for - assuredly, or assured..or I assure you ..
Firmament is relationship to the heavens. Or sky!
Erelong means - before long or soon. I meant as in soon.
Cometoids are things that resemble a comet or comet like.
Cavorting is like dancing happily or bouncing...
Wherein means - in which -archaic form!
Tagalog is meaning Jane's language called Tagalog as Filipinos have tons of different languages and dialects. Jane uses main Tagalog in Filipino and also she uses the language called Cebuano which is her mother's main tongue..
Thole means- endure without complaint or resistance. Also meaning being patient in today's terms..
Yonside- means on the farthur side of..
brandon nagley Aug 2015
Up aloft
Mount malindang:
I tasted her syrup
I drank her tang.

She spoke Tagalog
I understood her slang;
I cut mine own wrist's
To taketh her pain's.

And in the sun
Neath the rain;
She couldst smile again
As ourn eye's stared, no blink.


©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poets poetry
©Earl Jane nagley dedication
brandon nagley Sep 2015
i.

I slumbereth inside her soul
Whilst I glory amongst her gold;
There art treasure's there of old
As Angel's singeth hymn's of solomon.

ii.

Her spirit to me is a guide
Her eye's I sinketh in, slide;
From her Filipino Tagalog
I'll taketh a celestial ride.

iii.

Calm I am with her ambience
Embalmed I am, in her gladness;
I shalt swimmeth across the isthmus
To reacheth her, in the Asiatic distance.

©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poets poetry
©Earl Jane nagley dedication
brandon nagley Sep 2015
At mine bedside,
Eastern surveyor's
Dancing across mine face,
Her pucker's move
In Tagalog groove;
Heaven at mine bedside
She awaiteth.



©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poet's poetry
©Earl jane Nagley dedication
REMIELOU FERNIZ Jun 2018
If you ask me what I liked about you,
The answer is – I don’t know.

Maybe it’s your eyes.

How it was covered by thick glasses,
Or how the bags have permanently
resided below them.

Maybe because of how they twinkled
When a new song would come up,
Or the way they squint
When you try to act cute.

Maybe because of the loneliness  
Reflected on them when you look at her.
How they followed her direction
With sadness and adoration.

Maybe it’s the way they shed tears
- tears that she does not deserve.
Or how I wanted to wipe them off
And replace them with eye smiles.

Or maybe how I wanted them
To land at my direction.
Yeah, maybe it was your eyes.


Or maybe it’s your nose.

How it’s not pointed and small enough.
How your eye glasses have rested on its bridge,
Or how it wrinkles when you don’t like something.

Maybe It’s the way you smell
The scent of coffees and cigarettes,
Or how they get clogged when you cry
And how mine gets clogged too.
Maybe it was your nose.


Or Maybe it’s your lips.

How thin and dry they are.
How they smirk at stupid things.
Or maybe because of the words
That spill from them.

Maybe it’s the way they tremble
When you struggle to speak bisaya.
Or the way your tagalog accent comes out
When your angry, annoyed or confused.

Maybe it’s the way they move
As you whisper I love you’s
And sana ako nalang to her,
While I whisper those to you.

Maybe how I wanted to taste those lips
On mine and savor its softness.
Or maybe even just for the way they curve
Into smile when you are with her.

Maybe the way you frown
When she’s with somebody else.
Or maybe I wanted to also wipe those out.
Yeah, maybe it was your lips.

Or maybe I simply don’t need a reason at all.
Jun Lit Aug 2018
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.
brandon nagley Aug 2015
i.

A degree unlike any to mankind
O lord, thou hath sent me a goddess;
Teeth, pearlied whitened, hair black
Tagalog golden parlance, gem strapped.

ii.

Felicity hath abducted me
Into mine Jane's melting heat;
Her fire is as if the burning bush
Whence back when God didst to Moses speak.

iii.

Mine creator created her
And saweth it was good;
He stitched her from mine rib
As mine heart, molded in her ladyhood.

iv.

Commandment's he hath layed out
To be endowed to mine empress queen;
Ourn endearment contracted on blood moon's
Saturn's color's to write out, the many year's to be the ring's.

v.

As time wilt passeth on
Mine needing for her shalt get bigger;
I canst liveth without mine Filipino rose
She's mine lover, soulmate, angelic figure.



©Brandon nagley
©Lonesome poet's poetry
©Earl Jane dedication/Reyna/soulmate
brandon nagley Jan 2016
ι.

Sнe ғell down ғroм ғroм тнe ғιrмaмenт
Oғ тнe cryѕтallιne ѕee тнroυgн вlυe;
Twaѕ an angel dreѕѕed ιn yellow
Lace, wιтн a ѕaccнarιne ғace,
Heaven waѕ нer naмe,
Sнe wenт вy тнe
Soвrιqυeт;
Jane oғ
Tagalog,
Scrιвιng on log'ѕ,
Leттιng oтнer'ѕ
Knoweтн oυrn
Aмoυr' waѕ
Trυe.


©Brandon Nagley
©Lonesome poets poetry
©Earl jane Nagley dedication ( Filipino rose)
Sobriquet means - nickname,
Scribing means writing,
Jun Lit Jul 2019
[isang pagsasalin sa Tagalog, batay sa orihinal na
"When tomorrow starts without me" ni David Romano]

Kapag nagsimula ang bukas na di ako kasama,
at ako’y wala roon upang makita;
Kung sisilayan ng araw ang iyong mga mata,
na puno ng luhang para sa akin, Sinta;
Labis kong nais na hindi ka lumuha,
katulad ng sa araw na ito’y iyong ginawa,
habang inaalala ang maraming bagay at salita,
na hindi nasabi o hindi nawika.

Batid ko kung gaanong kamahal mo ako,
kasingsidhi ng pag-ibig kong tanging sa iyo,
at sa tuwinang ako’y iisipin mo,
Alam kong hahanap-hanapin mo ako;
Subalit kung ang bukas ay magsimulang wala ako,
nawa'y pakaunawain mo,
na isang sugo ang dumating at tinawag ang aking ngalan,
at ang kamay ko’y kanyang hinawakan,
at wika’y handa na ang aking paglulugaran,
sa malayo’t mataas na kalangitan,
at kailangang lumisa’t talikdan,
tanang sa aki’y mahal, lahat ay iiwan.

Subalit pagtalikod kong palayo,
Isang patak ng luha ko’y tumulo,
pagkat buong buhay, lagi kong kinukuro,
Ayokong mamatay.
Maraming dahilan para ako’y mabuhay,
maraming gagawin pang mga bagay,
Tila imposible, hindi kailanman,
na ikaw mahal ko’y iiwan.

Bumalik sa ala-ala ko ang mga araw na nagdaan,
ang masasaya’t ang mga kalungkutan,
Pumuno sa isip ang pag-ibig nating pinagsaluhan,
at lahat ng ating galak at kaligayahan.

Kung sa kahapo’y mabubuhay akong muli,
kahit man lamang kaunting sandali,
Magpapaalam ako’t hahagkan ka
at marahil, makikita kong ngingiti ka.

Ngunit lubos kong napagtanto,
na hindi na kailanman mangyayari ito,
sapagkat pagkawala’t mga ala-ala na lamang,
ang sa aki’y papalit at maiiwan.

At nang maalala ko ang sa mundo’y mga kasayahan,
na bukas ay di ko na matitikman,
ikaw ang naging laman ng isipan,
at puso ko’y napuno ng kalungkutan.

Ngunit pagpasok ko sa pinto ng kalangitan,
Ramdam ko’y ako’y nakauwi sa tahanan.
Pagdungaw ng Bathala’t ako’y nginitian,
mula sa kanyang gintong luklukan,

Wika’y “Ito ang Walang Hanggan,
at lahat ng pangakong sa ‘yo’y inilaan".
Sa araw na ito, natapos ang buhay sa lupa,
ngunit dito ngayon ang simula.
Di ko ipapangako ang kinabukasan,
ngunit ang ngayon ay magpakaylanman,
at dahil bawat araw ay pareho lamang,
ang nakaraa’y hindi na kasasabikan.

Ngunit ikaw ay naging matapat at naniwala,
tunay at totoo, lubos na nagtiwala.
Kahit may panahong may mga hindi tama,
na alam **** hindi dapat ginawa.

Ngunit ikaw ay pinatawad na
at ngayon sa wakas ay malaya na.
Kaya’t kamay ko ba’y hindi mo hahawakan
at sa buhay ko, ako’y sasamahan?

Kaya pag sumulong na ang bukas at wala na ako,
huwag **** iisiping nagkalayo tayo,
dahil sa tuwinang iisipin mo ako,
Nandito lang ako, diyan sa puso mo.
My translation into Tagalog of David Romano's "When Tomorrow Starts Without Me" -
"When tomorrow starts without me,
and I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes,
all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry,
the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things,
we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
as much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
please try to understand,
that an Angel came and called my name,
and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready,
in heaven far above,
and that I'd have to leave behind,
all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
so much yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible,
that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
and all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
just even for awhile,
I'd say goodbye and kiss you
and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
that this could never be,
for emptiness and memories,
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
my heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
from His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eternity,
and all I've promised you".
Today for life on earth is past,
but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
but today will always last,
and since each day's the same day,
there's no longing for the past.

But you have been so faithful,
so trusting and so true.
Though there were times you did some things,
you knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven
and now at last you're free.
So won't you take my hand
and share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,
don't think we're far apart,
for every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart."
Jedd Ong Sep 2014
The yellow sun
Seems to have shied
Away from my father.

I take one hard look,
Cut
His figure like cardboard,
Paste

Him in the throes
Of the Great Wall,

The seaports of Guangzhou...
It fits him like a glove.

My grandfather
Still thinks it's 1937.

He came here
On a boat
That collapsed
Kissing
Our blueing shoreline.

And I'm not sure if he has
Any memory
Of home but
If so, he seems determined
To live as a straggler.

Forever caught in between
His beloved red-ink
Chinese newspapers

And the fact
That he swears
Quite fluently in Tagalog.

My dad
Always forbade me from cursing.
Rarely did himself.

When he did though,
He'd do it fluently
In Chinese,

His beloved
Local newspaper,
Black and white,
Folded
On his lap.

...sometimes I wonder
If the boat
Truly made it
At all.
mi alma is made of pineapple fabric,
bartered in the palengkes of San José,
nothing like the silk of Manileño prep-school boys,
in their country clubs and villages with gates,
classmates whom I envied for their patrician ways,
whose diphthongs I eventually learned to emulate
as I dyed my pineapple-fabric soul with neon desires,
neon as bright as New York City lights,
and put on an invisible muzzle on my face.
but what was harder to wash away from my soul of piña
was the stench of garlicky stews we ate in San José,
so foul that even aswangs kept their distance,
'stead of ******* me out of my mother’s womb and taking me away,
throw me up deformed somewhere in the UK,
deformed like the glorified mongrels that are my cousins,
those UCL-educated mestizos, or was it LSE?
oh, maybe my life wouldn’t have been so ******* mierda,
in a corporate attire with a three-thousand pound pay!
but unfortunately, I wear my alma of pineapple fabric
masticated by the teeth of unsolicited advice,
fragrant with cathedral incense, heavy with the guilt
of having been cummed on by ersatz lovers, ‘straight’ best-friends
whom I’ve cut out of my life like overgrown fingernails,
for tripping over loose threads and undoing my soul,
oh, yes, I get lonely without my BFFs, but at least
I still have mi alma de piña, my greatest source of pride,
fragile pride as fragile fabric must be dry-cleaned monthly
at Au Beau Blanc, Gallardo Street, Makati City,
elegant but indeed makati (which is Tagalog for really really itchy)
remember: don’t you ever dare to wash me in the Machine!
or as I like to call it the Lacanian Other clothed in moreno skin,
castrative, repressive, myopic Manilense society, nope!
I will not go to spinning class with synthetic souls ever again
cannot chismis anymore about Manila scandals over brunch,
because my soul is made of pineapple fabric
and pineapple easily tears apart at the seams,
shedding its fibers behind in faraway places,
foster cities and countries with their irrevocable stains,
like those of chimichurri and malbec in Buenos Aires,
Debería haber nacido en Buenos Aires, I always like to say
‘cause it would be more chic to drown myself in Rio de Plata
than the ****** waters of ******* Manila Bay.
Pues, thank God, I didn’t, because now estoy en Spain
and of vermut ***** con aceitunas I am always inebria—
ted, waxing nostalgic for a time when these white men
would’ve scoffed to see an Indies dress,
would’ve asked my pineapple fabric soul to untuck,
scared to be stabbed by some concealed, mystical kris,
but no! don’t get me wrong! I love Mother Spain!
but I don’t think I belong here either,
nor in Buenos Aires or the United States,
nor will I belong again in any one of those seven thousand isles,
which my fingers fidget with like the rosaries I pray
to call out to the god of overseas workers,
the patron saint of the unmoored, the new cosmopolitan
oh, please help me conquer, for the sake of mi alma en pena
hecha de piña
, now ruined, stinky, sullied, stained,
help me find a street, an enclave, a hamlet, or a shore
just somewhere—a corner to feel not so out of place.
Reisa Jan 2019
Hindi ko alam — Tagalog (Filipino) words meaning, "I don't know. "

The only thing you say to the question,
"What are we?"
solana Mar 2020
"Since Metro Manila has an elevation of around five meters, it seems to be living on borrowed time."
Philippine Inquirer, 2019

i am the daughter of a girl without a mother    
born on an island bordered by water

my closest ones live too far away from me  
scattered like dozens of inlets floating on water

in Tagalog the verb mag-alala  [ to worry ]     shares a root with pag-alala [ to remember ]
every year i grow older   & more likely to drown from water

my home is a country   joined together by a liquid border
in thirty years   the city that birthed me will be under water  

every poem i write has become an elegy     mourning the loss of a country i invented
that only exists in my childhood memory     and memory is as fragile as water

— The End —