Words and Invisible Cords

  It is 25 degrees celsius in my room Still too cold for tatay So at 8pm he is guided to the other room With no AC on Nanay, and sometimes when the grandkids are around They stay in my room We cuddle in the cold We breathe warm giggles Consume heat as our legs big and small Brush against each other under the covers Until the eyes get tired from the bright LED light Straight from the smart tv mounted on the wall Until our throats go dry from old gossips and banter Until the intervals of our inhales and exhales Follow the rhythm of four lines forming a square Until our heartbeats fall to fifty a minute And the sound of old gossips and banter fade. It is 11 o'clock The grandkids sleeping like tired construction workers Nanay and I with our eyes half-closed And with our sentences hanging unfinished We hear struggling, small footsteps Strides so painful yet strong He doesn't knock He opens the door He smiles watching the little construction workers He asks me 'tong' you stil

It rained heavily last night Flood water filled the spaces in the cracks Davao's roads, concrete and rough Parched from days of scorching dry heat Gulped unapologetically in relief. Seated, I crossed my legs Laid my back inch by inch Onto the woven surface of rattan Subtly screeching, and adjusting To the weight Of A Person. A person waking up from shallow sleep Tries to compensate for depth In the liminal spaces Of cracked pavements and mud streets Of moist fibers of wood sheaths And in the brief hours Of dawn.

My father has a hospital bed at home I like sleeping on it Or playing with its manual recliner Adjusting it to my liking: Netflix angle, around 45 degrees Reading angle, more Meditating angle, depends Flat for shavasana. While in shavasana I thought Does tatay play with the manual recliner, too? He's not as confined to it anymore Limbs are healthier after the stroke At 2am he would always get up And move to the living room sofa to sleep This signals the great changing of guards In the early hours of dawn As I slowly jump into tatay's hospital bed Adjusting the recliner to my liking. Oh sweet luxury of choice And of play And of role play It can get scary Buy more time Spend more time. I hear the roosters crow Must be 4am Any moment now tatay will reclaim his twilight, reclining throne. I shall inch back to the king-sized bed. In the name Of the father Of the son And of the holy spirit Amen.

The blues Also happen In the expansive breath Of the mountains But Hues of doom The blues Are disarmed Each time The loyal blinding, golden light Usurps the dark throne Albeit rather briefly Air suspended victory The loyal blinding, golden light Shows up in the morning Shows up in the morning Always Shows up in the morning.

Fresh and Fast Concord Kebab Shop Single, double, large Pizza, manoosh, pide Persian or Turkish The couple's mother tongue Flying 10 for 12 dollars for chicken wings Protein box Beef, chicken, mixed Say cheese Fresh and Fast To save money I prefer pick-up John, to my surprise, she called my name Free chicken wings while I wait Ham and pineapple pizza Single Ready for you Im ready for you Next time  Fresh and Fast Concord Kebab Shop Ham and pineapple pizza Double Ready for you, John And...

It's from my friend Tatia This sofa Three years ago she broke up with her boyfriend Sold everything, and split the money I was new to Sydney, just moving to my own place Happy to buy second hand, pre-loved Post-love New beginnings from the vestiges of broken relationships What remains of love when it 'ends' Still love. This sofa from my friend Tatia It's been three years I'm giving up on it I'm letting it go Or so I thought My back already aches, one vertebra by vertebra Must be the years, must be Netflix or must be the chill that went with Netflix and chill I was supposed to throw it away Dump it in the trash It has served me well I'm not bitter even if it starts to hurt Broken bones are better than broken hearts. But I'm salvaging it from total damnation I have a balcony, perhaps it can occupy that space This sofa from my friend Tatia From broken hearts, to broken bones, to witnessing broken people passing by below my vista I sit here at night With a g