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Jolography

by Paolo Manalo O, how dead you child are, whose spoiled Sportedness is being fashion showed Beautifuling as we speak – in Cubao There is that same look: Your Crossing Ibabaw, Your Nepa Cute, Wednesdays Baclaran, “Please pass. Kindly ride on.” Tonight will be us tomorrowed- Lovers of the Happy Meal and its H, Who dream of the importedness of sex as long as it’s Pirated and under a hundred, who can smell A Pasig Raver in a dance club. O, the toilet Won’t flush, but we are moved, doing the gerby In a plastic bag; we want to feel the grooves Of the records, we want to hear some scratch- In a breakaway movement, we’re the shake To the motive of pockets, to the max.           The change is all in the first jeep Of the morning’s route. Rerouting This city and its heart attacks; one minute faster Than four o’clock, and the next Wave that stands out in the outdoor crowd hanging with a bunch of yo-yos- A face with an inverted cap on, wearing all Smiles the smell of foot stuck between the teeth.

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Fire and Ice

By Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

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The Bustle in a House

By Emily Dickinson The bustle in a house The morning after death Is solemnest of industries Enacted upon earth, -- The sweeping up the heart, And putting love away We shall not want to use again Until eternity.

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Order for Masks

By Virginia R. Moreno To this harlequinade I wear black tight and fool’s cap Billiken, make me three bright masks For the three tasks in my life. Three faces to wear One after the other For the three men in my life. When my Brother comes make me one opposite If he is a devil, a saint With a staff to his fork And for his horns, a crown. I hope for my contrast To make nil Our old resemblance to each other and my twin will walk me out Without a frown Pretending I am another. When my Father comes Make me one so like His child once eating his white bread in trance Philomela before she was raped. I hope by likeness To make him believe this is the same kind The chaste face he made, And my blind Lear will walk me out Without a word Fearing to peer behind. If my lover comes, Yes, when Seducer comes Make for me the face That will in color race The carnival stars And change in shape Under his grasping hands. Make it bloody When he needs it white Make it wicked in the dark Let him find no old mark Make it stone to his suave touch This magician will walk me out Newly loved. Not knowing why my tantalizing face Is strangely like the mangled parts of a face He once wiped out. Make me three masks.

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“Day on the Farm”

By Luis G. Dato ◦I've found you fruits of sweetest taste and found you Bunches of duhat growing by the hill, I've bound your arms and hair with vine and bound you With rare wildflowers but you are crying still. I've brought you all the forest ferns and brought you Wrapped in green leaves cicadas singing sweet, I've caught you in my arms an hour and taught you Love's secret where the mountain spirits meet. Your smiles have died and there is no replying To all endearment and my gifts are vain; Come with me, love, you are too old for crying, The church bells ring and I hear drops of rain.

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The Sick Rose

BY WILLIAM BLAKE O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy

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Deception

By Antonino Soria de Veyra ten floors up a lizard punctual at six o'clock crawls down stopping every now and then along the slender tree trunk and kisses the ground nitrified loam of the arboretum ten floors up

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Be Beautiful, Noble, Like The Antique Ant

By Jose Garcia Villa

Be beautiful, noble, like the antique ant Who bore the storms as he bore the sun, Wearing neither gown nor helmet, Though he was archbishop and soldier: Wore only his own flesh. Salute characters with gracious dignity: Though what these are is left to Your own terms. Exact: the universe is Not so small but these will be found Somewhere. Exact: they will be found. Speak with great moderation: but think With great fierceness, burning passion: Though what the ant thought No annals reveal, nor his descendants Break the seal. Trace the tracelessness of the ant, Every ant has reached this perfection. As he comes, so he goes, Flowing as water flows, Essential but secret like a rose.

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Lyrics: 17

By: José Garcia Villa

First, a poem must be magical, Then musical as a sea-gull. It must be a brightness moving And hold secret a bird’s flowering. It must be slender as a bell, And it must hold fire as well. It must have the wisdom of bows And it must kneel like a rose. It must be able to hear The luminance of dove and deer. It must be able to hide What it seeks, like a bride. And over all I would like to hover God, smiling from the poem’s cover.

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“Breathe” by Alessandra G.L. Gonzales

           This is not the typical flow of plot and scenarios in a short story. I can see the literary device flashback all over the story. The time setting switches from present to flashback every time. It gives off a different style and tone in the story but personally, I read the story more than once to be able to clearly understand what was happening. The story started from the last time Katherine and Isaak saw each other. The airport was their parting place. Isaak told him to breathe because she was having a hard time since she was crying too hard. The line ‘I knew, yet I would not follow him” is a literary device called foreshadowing in which an author hints certain plot developments that perhaps will come to be later in the story. The dialogue in this story is told in several ways. The couple was leading a long distance relationship that is why their communication varies from calls, snail mail and emails.

           When Isaak told Katherine that he was travelling to the Philippines, the symbolism of Katherine’s fear reflected when she said that she can’t take leave from work and that Isaak should cancel his trip. When Isaak arrived in the Philippines, he was introduced to Katherine’s family. In this particular scenario, conflict arises when it is obvious that Katherine’s family don’t like Isaak. It is a conflict between Isaak and Katherine’s family. He was purposely ignored at the dinner table and Katherine’s grandfather even cursed at him. I doubt he understood what he said because it was not in English. Perhaps the couple already saw this coming as they were trying to be very composed at the dinner. The time they spent together which is 8 days in the Philippines, the couple was described as very happy. The time came when Isaak had to leave and go back to Germany, and for the last time he asked Katherine to come with him since she defied her grandfather, Katherine still refused.

           Though Katherine loved Isaak, she chose to be with her family. At the airport when they were about to part ways, Katherine bawled her eyes out and Isaak still tried to comfort her. It was ironic how Isaak chose to be more comical in the situation. It was not directly stated in the story that the couple broke up but it is implied. At the end of the story where it shows the present time, Katherine is keeping herself busy. She was learning how to cook different dishes every day, and it symbolizes how she wants to divert her attention from the pain of breaking up. After 10 months of distracting herself, she still finds it difficult. Maybe she was having an internal conflict about her decision of choosing to stay with her family than being with Isaak. She could only distract herself now, as her decision was made and they did not end up well together.

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“Of Fish, Flies, Dogs and Women” by Timothy R. Montes

           This story revolves around the life of a former battered woman which eventually turned her life around. She was talking with a Mana Biben about how she was able to secure a place in the fish section on the market. She started to talk about how hard her life was when her drunkard husband would beat her up and not give her money to feed their 5 children. She was a small fish vendor back then. It all boils down to her shy and very timid personality. She easily gets insecure among the other fish vendors. What she did is that she walks house to house to sell her fish. It was hard for her because she knew that people talk, they gossip about her. The author used symbolism for the gossipers as the fly. Wherever there is food left or something smells fishy, flies go around them. Just like what the gossipers are doing behind her back. She did not care because she had to feed her children.

           One day she found a strange courage inside her to in Attorney Sabate’house. She found herself opening the rustic gate which symbolizes how unattended the house was. No one dares to go inside the Attorney’s house because of the notorious dogs that guards them. When inside, she was immediately surrounded by the dogs and she was just standing and shouting “fresh fish”. Then Angelica came out of the house, carrying her baby. She knew that Angelica was a disgrasyada, because practically all the flies are gossiping about that. She gave Angelica an advice because she kind of understood her situation. Angelica did not get what she meant and at that moment, the dogs attacked her fish. She fought the dogs to get her fish back and the dogs sensed her courage and backed off. When Angelica said she was sorry, she told her not to be. She does not have to be sorry, for what happened to her or the fishes or the dogs. She told him that she does not deserve her daughter if she feels sorry. When she left the Attorney’s house, she was suddenly feeling fewer burdens. She fought the dogs with her bare hands, no way can she not fight back to her drunkard husband.

           Angelica left the country with her baby and it just symbolizes a new beginning for her. She will surely do everything to keep her baby safe and will not allow what happened to her to happen to the child again. The woman now has the stall in market to sell her fishes, it is because she fought back to her husband and did not let him take over her life.

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“Touchmove” by Peter Mayshle

           This story happened in a Filipino setting. Roman and his brother were playing chess when the brother decided to tell Roman a story that happened to him. The author used flashback; a literary device in which an earlier or past event is inserted into the present. It is about his experience one night when there was a typhoon and they were all just hanging out in their spa. A massage spa wherein most of their customers are gay and they offer extra services. A woman appeared on their spa in the middle of the storm, and from her behavior I can say that she was in a hurry. The author used another symbolism where the woman was clutching her shoes close to her chest as a sign that she hurried on the way there. At first, they were all thrilled, including the brother because they thought that they “hit a jackpot”. The woman chose the brother to be his massage therapist. He was thrilled

           When they got upstairs, the woman was suddenly confident. This scene is considered as Irony, a literary device referring to how a person or circumstance is not as it would actually seem. The woman was actually scared and unsure but she hid her true feelings by behaving as if she was confident. When the massage takes place, it was just a normal massage session except for some instances like when the woman requested for the massage therapist to be naked. It is actually an allusion, a literary device whereby the author refers to a subject matter by way of a passing reference. She wanted the massage therapist to be naked as well so that she will not feel alone and different. When the massage therapist asked her to “turn over” he was very surprised of what he saw. He was struck by a sudden realization as to why the woman was behaving that way; she was covered in bruise and cuts. He understood right away and this is a literary device called epiphany where a character experiences a sudden and striking realization.

           The woman was a victim of domestic abuse. That moment when the massage therapist saw the condition of the woman, he changed. At first he was interested in hooking up with the woman but now, he understood that the woman was seeking temporary comfort through his hands. He told this story to Roman, his younger brother, hoping that he would also understand the meaning of that experience but he also realized when Roma was disappointed that he did not slept with the woman, Roman was still immature. The title of this short story, touch move, is a rule in playing games that the moment you touch a piece, you have to proceed and move or play that particular piece which is an ironic symbolism of what the massage therapist did. He was able to touch the woman but he did not went beyond what he is supposed to do. He respected the woman.

           This story happened in a Filipino setting. Roman and his brother were playing chess when the brother decided to tell Roman a story that happened to him. The author used flashback; a literary device in which an earlier or past event is inserted into the present. It is about his experience one night when there was a typhoon and they were all just hanging out in their spa. A massage spa wherein most of their customers are gay and they offer extra services. A woman appeared on their spa in the middle of the storm, and from her behavior I can say that she was in a hurry. The author used another symbolism where the woman was clutching her shoes close to her chest as a sign that she hurried on the way there. At first, they were all thrilled, including the brother because they thought that they “hit a jackpot”. The woman chose the brother to be his massage therapist. He was thrilled

           When they got upstairs, the woman was suddenly confident. This scene is considered as Irony, a literary device referring to how a person or circumstance is not as it would actually seem. The woman was actually scared and unsure but she hid her true feelings by behaving as if she was confident. When the massage takes place, it was just a normal massage session except for some instances like when the woman requested for the massage therapist to be naked. It is actually an allusion, a literary device whereby the author refers to a subject matter by way of a passing reference. She wanted the massage therapist to be naked as well so that she will not feel alone and different. When the massage therapist asked her to “turn over” he was very surprised of what he saw. He was struck by a sudden realization as to why the woman was behaving that way; she was covered in bruise and cuts. He understood right away and this is a literary device called epiphany where a character experiences a sudden and striking realization.

           The woman was a victim of domestic abuse. That moment when the massage therapist saw the condition of the woman, he changed. At first he was interested in hooking up with the woman but now, he understood that the woman was seeking temporary comfort through his hands. He told this story to Roman, his younger brother, hoping that he would also understand the meaning of that experience but he also realized when Roma was disappointed that he did not slept with the woman, Roman was still immature. The title of this short story, touch move, is a rule in playing games that the moment you touch a piece, you have to proceed and move or play that particular piece which is an ironic symbolism of what the massage therapist did. He was able to touch the woman but he did not went beyond what he is supposed to do. He respected the woman.

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“The Use of Force” by William Carlos William

           The story that I will be analyzing today revolves around the characters of a doctor, Mathilda and her parents. The doctor was called in the Olson’s house to check on the sick child, Mathilda. The doctor immediately guessed that the child has Diphtheria as she went to a school that has several cases of that particular disease. He wanted to examine the child’s throat to confirm his suspicion but there aroused their conflict. Conflict is a literary device that author’s use to express the growing struggles of two opposing forces. The opposing forces here were Mathilda and the doctor as she was not willing to open her mouth on her own. The conflict between the doctor and the parents also occurred when they were not able to help in the situation and rather unconsciously made the situation worse.

           Since Mathilda was not willing to open her mouth for the inspection voluntarily, the doctor decided on a few tactics. He first threatened the child, but Mathilda was persistent not to obey. This is where the doctor’s fury started to grow. On the back of his mind, he knew that he has an option to come back when the child calm down but he also knew that her disease might be critical. In the next parts of the story, I personally grew more uncomfortable when the idea struck me that this symbolizes a rape scene. The literary device used here is symbols where in the doctor who uses force to get what he want. There was a scene here that happened after the doctor reached his limit, he literally shoved the spatula into the child’s mouth and the spatula may be a symbol for phallus. Along these scenes, the doctor still finds it enjoyable. There was nothing on his mind except to achieve his desire to open the girl’s mouth and insert the spatula into it. As for the Mathilda, a little child like her would obviously grow tired of physically resisting a well, which is why the more she grew dejected, the closer the doctor comes close to his desire.

           I personally understand the doctor’s reason as to why he was so eager to inspect Mathilda’s throat. He is a doctor after all, it is his duty to diagnose and treat his patients mostly when it is a fetal disease but he forgot to consult his ethical considerations. The patient is a child, the patient is a living thing that feels violated.