mr. dashing debonaire
famous city slicker

dates not-so-pretty girls
in a choice of signs
taurus, capricorn or pisces

whomever he chooses
the prospects could be

complicated

but he may notice
the sad look in your eyes
and spare you with
lies

beautiful lies

and he will feel good
that he has done this

for you at least

as he kisses your cheek

and you disappear

forever

pink virgo put on her bob marley cd
to drive away the forces of evil.

she sat down and tried to make sense
of things by writing about what had been
happening. bob marley screamed. by
this time, the red stains on the undies,
she had soaked that morning, were
almost gone.

“i’m tired of waiting,” she thought out loud.

pink virgo looked straight at the text she
had written on her monitor. she had
managed to come up with 79 words,
exactly. not all of them were very nice.
she smiled, finally.

ms. cheesy macaroni says
i was a coward.
i was only being myself.

i ask the old man to translate
and he says that i stick to a
surface and remove myself.
afraid that i may cause damage.

damn right.
i am proud to be
a part of it all.

who would want to feel
the pangs of regret?
or the bites of satire?
or the exercises that
hurt your back?

post-its are like this, too.

this graduate thesis is

for mom,
whose love long
passed the love of
a million mothers
combined

for dad,
who cherished his
old ragged shorts

for ate cle, ate portia,
and kuya jerome,
who appreciate the
irony

for phoebe and emy,
who made all
happy

for you,
in the absence of
anything else

and

for me,
who knows why

once a lowly one-page
draft fell on my shoulder
and i hated it so much and
i brushed it aside and it
pouted and called its godmother
that a hundred-page draft
engulfed me so i resolved
to love it and accept it
that it became a thesis
and me a graduate
reaching an all-time high