UPOS

An attempt to write a poem in Filipino after not being able to write one for ages!
Sorry kung masyadong amateur pero di talaga ako magaling magsulat sa Pilipino, hehehe.

Upos

Marahan. Bumubuga ang usok mula sa mga labing minsa's lumiyab.
Sa gitna ng mga daliri'y nakaipit and sigarilyong tigib sa baga
Parehong baga na minsa'y nanuot sa sulok ng mga kalamnan
Parehong baga na minsa'y bumalot sa kabuoan ng kaluluwa.

Sa bawat hithit ay isang hibla and ninanakaw mula sa hininga,
Parehong usok na minsa'y nagpaluwag sa paghinga ng mga baga.
Sa bawat buga ay nakikipaghabulan sa bilis ng takbo ng oras,
Parehong orasan na minsa'y bumagal na wari'y wala nang wakas.

Unti-unting inuubos ng apoy ang sigarilyong sa kamay ay tangan,
Parehong apoy na minsa'y nagliyab na parang walang hanggan.
Sa abo nauwi ang lahat ng kailan lamang ay mabilis na sinindihan
Sa pagpitik sa upos ay kasabay na natapos sa kabila ng bagang naiiwan.

(untitled for now)

Before you I bow while you lay on the shore and I count every grain of sand

You throw me a gaze as you open your eyes and calmly before you I stand

From the apple you hold I take a bite, you are the serpent I shall never detest

Your venom seeps into my every vein; your poison feeds my soul

You speak soft words, music to my ears, they slowly calm my breath

Together we conquer every second we stole, a conspiracy far from regret

I stretch out my arms to envelope you with the warmth I’ve been trying to keep

And you hold my hand but it’s your cold grip I feel as soon as our skins meet

I seek for your lips, the opium of my soul, as my heartbeat races against logic

You offer me a kiss that’s so carnal, so cold, so indifferent, so empty, stoic

From the shores of desire let me set you out to sea where the body stops yearning and the heart bursts into flames

From the cradle of flesh let me take you to a place where our desire stops playing and can be more than just games.

To Ram

Your teeth sank into the redness of the apple, the serpent hisses music to your ears

Damned in paradise you slipped into bliss, regretting is far from the mind

You played the game with rules you wrote but a fool you broke your own

A loser you slipped into bliss, regretting is far from the mind

You sang to your heart to be still before it starts, the melody you cannot follow

Out of tune you slipped into bliss, regretting is far from the mind

You crossed the line your own pen drew, emotions devouring logic

A sinner you slipped into bliss, regretting is far from the mind

You looked for warmth from the opium lips and you asked for it to stay

Against an empty stare you slipped into bliss, forgetting is far from the mind

You asked for a grip from the hand you held, the cold pressed against your palm

With empty hands you slipped into bliss, forgetting is far from the mind

From Bow Biters to Creepy Crawlers

I still refuse to be called old. At 23, I shouldn't really be worrying about that. But after discovering my ability to now sing verbatim songs fit only for Retro Sunday airing, male-pattern baldness is now just a few years away. What makes me feel better is knowing that it is not just me but one whole generation of homo sapiens who worry about this - the children of the 80s-90s. I am talking about people who are around the age of 20-35, born in the mid 70s to the late 80s and lived through the mid 80s to the late 90s. But I believe the best way to deal with the ticking of the clock is not to run away from it but to drown in the nostalgia of the past. Here are some of the things that you couldn't have missed if you are really a child of the mid 80s to the late 90s:

Your can never tie your shoe laces properly without a pair of these cartoon-designed Bow Biters. Every kid, especially those in pre-school, just had to get a pair of these plastic clips not only to help keep those shoes on but also to flash these 90s version of blings.

Who will ever forget the most famous pet during the 90s? The Tamagochi is your very own virtual pet which you can feed, play with, and take care of. The Japanese just had so much time in their hands they come up with all sorts of weird things.

Pogs became a staple in every recess of every grade school and high school student during the 90s. They started as freebies given away by Coca Cola and eventually were manufactured and sold in the market. Who could've thought pieces of round cardboard will make great toys for slamming?

No kid in the 90s would settle for an ordinary pen. It just had to turn into a helicopter or a water gun, or maybe even catapult a plane into the air. The Power Penz craze crawled into every Filipino schoolchild's pencil case, and sometimes even into the teacher's drawer when confiscated for hitting your seatmate in the eye.

The 90s was the coolest time for keeping files because of the ever reliable Trapper Keeper! Each comes with pages of cardboard folders and lots of sidepockets which was every obsessive compulsive person's dream come true. High school and college kids had the time of their life stuffing everything they needed in these neat organizers while grade school kids looked forward to every quarterly/periodic exams to show off their new trapper keepers.

Believe it or not, you enjoyed playing with your Game & Watch and your Brick Game. These two may be far lamer than your PSP today but during that time you'd kill to get one of these which were the closest you can go to the virtual game world.

How many times did you have to say "I love you" to a stranger over the phone hoping that it reaches your hunny-bunny in time for your anniversary? Pagers/Beepers were definitely the best and fastest mode of mobile communication during the early 90s. No matter how awkward it was to spill secrets or sometimes curse that stranger with the lovely voice over the phone, you didn't hesitate doing it for the love of your life and of technology.

Who will forget the up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-a-b-a-b-select-start combo to earn a "hundred" lives (which is actually not just a hundred) in Contra? Or the multi-colored cartidges that sometimes need a good blowing for them to work properly? The Family Computer is the game console of all game consoles. Who is not guilty of growing eyebags staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish that Super Mario game? The Family Computer is to thank for all the coolest games today and to blame for the undying addiction to them.

Like what was said earlier, these Japanese guys just have so much time in their hands they come up with all sorts of things - even the coolest series! One can never claim to be an 80s/90s kid without knowing Bioman, Shaider, and Masked Rider Black. No child of this generation will ever forget these shows whether because he dreamed of having the same superpowers or plainly because Shaider's sidekick "Annie-the-Panty" gave him his very first upskirting experience.

Every kid of the 90s had his very own Coca Cola Yoyo which he probably bought from the peddler outside the school gate. Used by Coca Cola as a promotional item, this traditional Filipino toy became every 80s/90s kid's talent tool. Who knows it might have started your exhibition skills (not that kind you perv!).

And of course, who could forget about these small pieces of cardboard you used to throw into the air with the hopes of collecting your opponent's. The game of Teks became a substitute for other street games like habulan, patintero, or tumbang preso. It is probably the foundation of our booming gambling industry today.

Who will forget the day when you freaked your mom out by bringing home stacks of matchboxes filled with these creepy crawlers you just won? Gagamba Fighting became a craze during that time which brought every student to the Guidance Office for being caught playing with spiders while in class. The poor creatures just had to give their lives up for these kids' juvenile gambling urges as they made them fight against each other with, usually, cash on the line.

These are just a few things that you may want to include in the list of anecdotes you've been building to tell your boy or your boy's boy while you sit on that recliner waiting for your final gig. How good will it feel when in the end you can proudly say that you lived during an era of creativity and wit - a witness to everything wonderful, from Bow Biters to Creepy Crawlers.

Footnote

I couldn't figure how to import old stuff I've written in my multiply site to this account so I decided to just refer you guys to them: http://georam.multiply.com/journal. Please feel free to check them out. More entries to come here and in multiply! :)