Normal ang mga baldado at ulila

—Sapat sana ang dala ng mga trak para sa apat na buwan ng pagkain, tubig, at gamot. Trak-trak, ilang milya lamang ang layo, at handa pang mas ilapit sa mga gutom at may sakit! Sa halip, pinalalakad ang mga namatayan ng ilang oras tungo sa mga siksikang pila upang kuyugin ng mga tangke. 

—At tataas ang ating krudo. May bago ka bang sasabihin? 

—Araw-araw tayong pinaniniwala sa kasamaan ng tao. 

—May nagbago ba sa iyo? 

—Dati na bang presinto ang asul na tala? 

—Kung apektado ang bilihin, e di lalong kakayod. So bakit aksaya ka sa oras? 

—Paano kung ito talaga tayo? Bigyan mo ng baril, babarilin ang aso. Bigyan mo ng bomba… 

—Subukan mo kayang huwag mandamay. 

—Na ito tayo. Manalig ka, ito talaga tayo. 

—Kung may mapapainom lang sana sa iyo. Cobra o pills. 

—Pinagpala siya, ang hindi nakikiupo sa sofa ng mga pahamak. 

—Kung ramdam mo lang ang pamimigat ng iyong mga hita sa mga biyaya… 

—Kay linis na puti, anim na tilos na kay bubughaw. 

 —Hindi ka lang tinitiis dito ha? Minamahal ka. Tatak ang mukha mo sa unan namin. 

—Kakulay ng payapang langit ang sagisag ng alambreng tinik. 

—Maging magiliw ka naman! Nadadownload ‘yan. Matutong magpasalamat. 

—Ang sigaw sa batang mabagal kumain, “hoy, sa Gaza nagugutom ang mga tao.” 

—Sa Gaza, patibong sa bata ang de lata. Granadang easy open can ang Diyos. 

—Handang-handang ilapit sa gutom, uhaw, at may kapansanan.

Fifteen Trillion Pesos

Since 1972, Martial Law has been a sweet choice for top families and it’s no surprise why. We’re all about three things: grand parties, blood-free memories, and the bottom line! FM’s dream was to create a country where his elite could enjoy world-class catering, jewelry, art, and a simple pair of shoes every now and then. Today, the name’s still serving up good vibes.

We’re not stuck in the past though, we’ve evolved while staying true to our roots! BBM believes in timeless joys with family like attending concerts, watching F1 grand prix, and plunging the Philippines in greater and greater depths of indebtedness.

No, we’re not just about nostalgia, we’re all about enriching 2025 with each other. The future looks bright, brimming with excitement, and deeply hungry for fun, 20-peso rice, and the promise of this 274-billion-dollar experience! Brace yourself for interesting times and ecstatic memories right here in the Philippines!

Payload

We have completed our very successful attack on the Aid Distribution sites in Gaza, including Tel al-Sultan, Khan Younis, Wadi Gaza, and Morag Area. Our forces are firing on crowds, near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation areas. Example, we fired WARNING SHOTS on the primary hub, Tel al-Sultan, reducing need for aid. Tanks are safely on their way home. Congratulations to the elderly, disabled, and Northern Gaza residents. There is not another foundation in the World as humanitarian as this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS! Thank you for biometric checks and militarized zones.

Canis Lupus Fidelis

Iyan ang pamagat ng blog mo noong college pa tayo at bago pa ang mga blogs. Noong tumanda ka nang kaunti, nagka-lupus ang kaibigan nating kagaya mong nag-Palanca (sanaysay ka, kuwentong pambata siya). Ilang taon lamang at mababawian siya ng buhay. Maya-maya, nanay mo naman at lupus din. Hindi natin inakalang mauuna ka pa at ang kanser mo. Hindi ko alam kung uso sa iyo ang langit pero alam ko okay lang naman kapag wala na at kausap pa rin. Ginulat ka ba at may langit nga? May wifi ba at nakita mo ang pa-Happy Birthday in Heaven ng nanay mo na Optimus Prime ang tema at may caption na to my knight, my protector? Nagbago na ba ang ugali ng tatay mo? Nakalis na kaya ang lahat ng collectibles mo na sinimulan mong ibenta noong pandemya at tinamaan ng lintik ang iyong trabaho? E si... kinasal na kaya sa iba? Nag-step-up ba ang mga kapatid mo at kailangan pa rin ba ng proteksyon ng nanay mo? Nabalikan mo ba ang iconic na hairstyle mo noong college pa tayo, ang buffalo horns? Puwede ka pa rin bang mag-itim kung ang lapit-lapit ng mga ulap sa araw?

PRIDE CENTO

Sayang ang araw
Tuwing tumitilaok ang manok
Sabi ni Tatay, nagkulang daw ng yero

At habang naliligo ang mga talulot
garden pansies

Sumisigaw ang batang
Malamang sa malamang
under the blanket

What is wrong

Not all beginnings come with fireworks

__________________________
mula sa mga pambungad na linya sa Mountain Beacon nina Glenn Ford B. Tolentino, Marvin Marquez, Ron Atilano, Francis Rey Arias Monteseña, Pinky Aguinaldo, Jennylyn De Ocampo Asendido, Julius Cunanan, Lorelyn Arevalo, Maryo Domingo, and Maggie Fokno

Another form

“People were always skeptical after the procedure, refusing to accept that the loved one didn’t pass away, but safely transitioned into another form. Wendy knew she almost couldn’t believe it when it happened to Peter. She took a deep breath and chose her words delicately.”

Tatlong pangungusap ‘yan sila mula sa “Silvered Sentience,” ang huling kuwentong isinumite ni Paolo Torres sa aming klaseng HUM 160, isang dekada na ang nakalipas. Naging estudyante ko rin siya bago noon, sa HUM 1, unang beses namin, at tumatak siya sa akin kahit 150+ ang kanyang kaklase! Habambuhay na ang pagkakatatak na iyon.

Nagpapasalamat at nagkabatian nitong a-diyes ng Marso, kanyang ika-30 kaarawan. Kahit saglit lang.

Nakikiramay sa mag-anak at mga kaibigan. Paalam, Pao.

TATAY CENTO

Kung susuriin ang bawat pahina
ng iyong mga nalalaman, sapagkat ano ang silbi
kasama ang mga sapot na sumabit
Then it's treasure
"naniniwala ako sa iyo anak"
a double rainbow
everytime you reached for the bread-of-salt

and manufactured cheese, a promise
sa pag-asang mahuli ang kumain
Na noo'y naputulan ng dila

Ang nakasupot nang kaputol ng bagis
ang karapatang magpasya

__________________________
mula sa mga linya sa Mountain Beacon nina Mark Vincent Dela Cruz, Ron Atilano, Marvin Marquez, Maggie Fokno, Francis Rey Arias Monteseña, Billy T. Antonio, Homer B. Novicio, CJ Peradilla, Nichael Lumakang Conje, Pinky Aguinaldo, Harold Fiesta, at Edelio De los Santos

13 mirrors

1. among twenty showy writers
the only moving thing
was the eye of a boycott

2. I was of three miseries
like a trigger
in which there are three boycotts

3. boycott whirled around the aviary chime
in the shadow of a pantomime

4. a man and a woman
are one
a man and a woman and a boycott
are one

5. I do not know which to prefer
the symbol of the honored guest
or the symbol of a friend
the boycott whistling
or just after

6. drones filled the widow
with barbaric glass
a hint of a boycott
crossed it, to and fro
the mood
dead in the shards of
the barest cause

7. genocide pros why
imagine golden vetoes
while the boycott
walks around the feet
of the women about you

8. I know sneaky absences
and vivid, racial reservations
but I know, too
that the boycott is involved
in what I know

9. when the boycott flew inside
it marked what is not
one of many nothings

10. at the sight of boycotts
outside a German spotlight
even the bookfair
would cry tears of profit

11. she flew from Manila
in a glass shroud
once, a fear pierced her
in that she mistook
the clout of her shelves
for a boycott

12. the river flowing to the sea
a boycott must be asking

13. it was evening all year
it was mourning
our boycott sat
on a small part of the limb

CENTO NG KAIBIGAN

Mahal natin itong mga nakahalukipkip
Ang hindi karugtong ng aking dugo
   ng buwang sumusunod sa ating mga anino

Groovy as the ancients say
even when you forget the way
a clutch of rotting eggs

    aming naunawaan
is a shiny red fine apple
Saksi sa ngayon. Ito ang mahalaga

 na masarap ding iusad
sa matutupad niyang pagbabagong-anyo

__________________________
mula sa mga huing linya sa Mountain Beacon nina Pinky Aguinaldo, Steven Claude Tubo, CJ Peradilla, Homer B. Novicio, Harold Fiesta, Lorelyn Arevalo, Ron Atilano, April Pagaling, Redwin Dob, Francis Rey Arias Monteseña, at Edelio De los Santos

CENTO NG SALUSALO

Sa wasak na kusina

nangingintab ang mga bibig na parang mansanas
wiggling breath by breath

until our tongues give
hanggang nahahalikan ko na ang pusod

bukang-liwayway na hindi nananatili

__________________________
mula sa mga linya nina Ron Atilano, Harold Fiesta, Lorelyn Arevalo, CJ Peradilla, Pinky Aguinaldo, at Francis Rey Arias Monteseña

NOTLEY CENTO

They want to watch you all humans being empathic predators
both eyes is this part of the poem I'm the singer of

It’s like passionate love for a ghost.
I begin to overtake myself

Shocking pink knee socks recalling legs
betrayal and its off-color quarter-tones I mean

distant somethings sliding by

_________________________________
from “The Poem,” “Betrayal,” “I’ve meant to tell you many things about my life …,” “Poem,” and “2/16”

Alice Notley (1945-2025)