Kryptonite

I’m not difficultNeither easy.I’m different.All of us are.But I always question,“How can one have a hundred friendsOr let’s say fifty and he or sheKnows all of them and keep upWith them like friendship goals?”I don’t know whyWhen this person is supposedTo be friendly,But when it comes to meHe/she keeps quiet.Why do I have to make…

A “thank you” for Every Day

If I listened to all my insecurities, I would live a very fearful life. I would shroud in robes hiding the various parts of my body that I thought people had checked and censured. I would not speak because I might utter words that may raise many eyebrows and they may use them against me…

Zeeb the Ox (7)

The Bovidae army marched toward the other camp, and every soldier looked their fiercest. Their swords, daggers, and spears were ready to aim at anyone who would attack them. Their shields were firm to protect them from any harm that they would encounter, and everyone was on their feet. With one shout, they would dash…

Roles

You are a friend, for sure,I was sick, you got cure.I was lost, you found me.I was high, you made plea. You are a friend, so real,You arrange every deal.My life’s like a garden.All my words, you hearken. Yet, some words, some gestures,You do need some fixturesAs a friend, let me speakFreely and please don’t…

Cake in a Box

Don’t rain on my parade!This one time,Let me jump, let me shout!For so many years,You have kept the cake in a box.It’s baffling how you singled me outWas it because of my birthday?It falls on a summer day,When bodies retreat to cottages,Saturate in salt water,Skimpy dresses are worn aplenty,And you go with the flow.It’s easy…

CONDOLENCE or CONDOLENCES?

For the past two years, death had been prevalent. At the onset of COVID-19, some people we knew had suffered, and then months later obituaries had been posted on our notifications more often. Also, there had been disasters in between. Mourning had become, for a while, the default expression which of course, we never wanted…

Encouraging Gestures

I have been teaching for 15 years, and I can honestly say that I’m still learning new things. I learn from my co-teachers, from seminars, and even from my students. Learning is something we do for a lifetime. I will never be ashamed to say that I have not mastered the official names of educational…

“The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant”

Although I followed Friends when it aired on ABC 5 every Wednesday at 8:00 or 8:30 pm (I’m not sure anymore) back in the mid-90’s, I already forgot most of the episodes. Right now, I’m rewatching it on Netflix, and I’m still in the second season. This fifth episode from the second season entitled, “The…

To Gracey and Her Strawberry Jam (and the time when you were not here but you’re here now)

Every time I sit for breakfast,I open that peanut butter,Brush strawberry jam on bread’s crust,Wondering how the jam afterTwo months still half full and so red.Then see that you’re not on the chair.The manner you came down from bedYou painted your face with a sneer.I recall you spoke in humdrum,Dragged your small feet to the…

To the Brink

I don’t understandwhy you’re pushing me to the brinkand expect me to say nowhen yes is the only answerthat you need to hear, orI’ll fall and break my bodyinto many pieces bloody and gooey. I can’t recall.Did I ever do something violent?Like what you are doing to me now?As far as I know,our trips were…