The Theme : Homecoming

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The Response :

verbatim

(in my tongue, and yours)

tinatawagan ko ang musa ng panulaan
na muling magkanlong sa aking paanan.

i am calling the muse of poetry
to once again gather on my feet.

binigo ang aking panitikan
ng mahika ng ube at indigo

my literature has been betrayed
by the magic of purples and blues

at ang mga kumpas
ng gitara't silindro,
hindi lubusang mahilum

and the rhythm
of string and wind
can no longer heal

ang kirot ng nagbabaga
at nadudurog nang pag-asa.

the pain of the flaming
and shattering hopes.

nilalamon ng karamdaman
ang dating sumpaan ng isip at puso

the illness is swallowing
old promises of the mind and heart

kaya kahit ako'y masaya,
dibdib ko'y gumuguho

so amidst happiness,
i break

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Like feeling my spine reinserted-
The sensation of the key
As the tumblers ripple over its teeth.
And when I twisted the knob
Pulling the door towards me,
I felt the building and I
Both inhale.
With the pulsing rhythm of my footsteps
Echoing down the arterial halls throughout
The body of the east wing,
The sensations so long stagnant
Return to my extremities.
I am at home again.

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Plague

As I looked up into the sky,
Watched stately clouds, flutter by,
I sense within, a little longing,
A homesickness, and it's growing-

This restlessness I feel inside
is more than I can try to hide,
And to describe, I need big words
for it flies higher than the highest birds-

My feet, they move, mechanically,
To where, I don't know, but longingly,
So clear my mind: I'll let it move
And behold! My senses prove-

A sickness can only be cured
by the One Thing it cannot endure,
so journey, avere successo
to Memoria, that distant shore-


O bring to me my poison's cure,
A homecoming, I adjure...

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Coming Home

If you were coming home to me
I would pepper your face
with a thousand frantic kisses

If I were coming home to you
I would pull you to me
Until we touched from toe to top.

I would inhale your scent
And sigh out you name
In one long slow deep breath

I would run the finger tips of my left hand
Up the curve of your spine
And stop with my thumb feeling your pulse

As you hand made its ascent
My body would press harder into yours
Trembling, I would look up into your face

As you tilt your face to mine
I lean into you pulling you closer until our lips
Are so close that I feel the heat of your breath on mine.

I desperately want to taste you
My lips part and my eyes close
And I wait..

One more heart beat and then
Our lips touch lightly at first
I pull your bottom lip softly with my teeth.

Come home to me
I am on my way.

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Coming back to an empty home,
No friendly cat or garden gnome,
No happy dog or loving spouse;
Just me and a lonely, empty house.

I heaved a sigh in the empty hall
And gazed at every empty wall,
The empty floors, the empty bed,
An empty heart and an empty head.

I'll find no pleasure or comfort there,
With the rooms unfurnished and cupboards bare,
A big empty nothing and nothing more;

I knew I’d forgotten to lock the door.

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Sequel

Today I paid a visit

to the old cinema

downtown,


the outdated theater

that housed


the movies

of our yesteryears.


Still filled with the aroma


of  popcorn

and soda,


my return


was a prequel


to a night




of flashbacks.


I sat


in the farthest corner,

the seat

in the last aisle,


the same spot


where I read to you


my very first


love letter.


At the opposite side

of the row,


I saw shadows


of your smile;



the ones you had


when you kissed



my eyebrows.


And with our fave movie

playing

on the silverscreen,

I was surprised


with how


some things



survived time.



The wall

beside me


still had



our names



vandalled on it.




Until now,

it said





"I heart you.".