He would watch television soon after waking, catching up on the world lightly spinning
.
and headily, with the latest news soon forgotten and washed over wars and stars brutally
.
fighting for air time beauty soap commercials breakfast shows morning mass broadcasts
.
take all tragedy cruelty comedy beauty barrage garbage god in without blinking perhaps
.
only seeing static, both cataracts were growing worse, into a translucent screen showing
.
only shadows, blurred pain. Out of nowhere he would chuckle out of cue, missing punch
.
lines, while someone got left behind by the love of her life, a politician danced and sang
.
in a campaign ad, another typhoon drowned another poor province, ending credits rolled
.
and every time I would bite the ache back and laugh with him. I remember getting asked
.
how I saw death. Someone turning the TV off, I said and it seemed so witty at that time.
.
I would watch him as snow slowly came into the picture and ask to hear one more story
.
about him, the war, grand old films, the ground orchids he kept, wanting to stay tuned in
.
but he would only look at me and absently smile. During the funeral rain fell right on cue
.
and messed up the reception so badly I saw almost nothing, only people planting flowers
.
deeply in the grass. Yet whenever I rewound, replayed the episode I would always hear
.
a light laughter, on particular scenes, like when they opened his box for a last screening
.
of sorts, then the rain of flowers. Like I am hearing it now, soft and scratchy and surely
.
not of this world, this electric wound, as I switch to a station-less channel and patiently
.
search among the static, stars and planets for him staring at the screen as I am, waving.
for Lolo Kanor
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4 comments:
what to say... hmmm, what would a moth say to a flame... i dunno... im not a poet but what my nimble mind can process tells me, you have done a great job.. do hope that you win that competition that cor tells me you plan on joining upon...
a question though developed upon my temple as i continued reading each of your new entries... carefully trying to read between the lines, looking, seeking for a glimpse of what you were thinking upon when you wrote these creations... a clue on how you think... but every time i develop a profile, you give me something new to digest... something new to ponder upon...
but the question though is, are you in-love? hahaha...
every poem is a new world to me, kash.ü Kudos!
i love the title, "reception".
na tats ako sa ending.. hehe.ü
okay, about the reading on monday...
i think it's between Ghosts and Reception. :)
my, my... ang hirap ata pumili. ano ba.. i love reception din kasi. hmm.. hehe, well you can always read two poems naman eh. Since inimbitahan ka ni sir, i'm sure okay yun! most of the readers there read two poems the last time.ü
looking forward to monday kash.ü hehe, and let's stick to the "plan". ;-)
read the lines; don't read between them. that's all i have to tell, you/ that's all i have to say.
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