Saturday, September 26, 2009

September 26, 2009





where do you
sleep when the sidewalk's
flooded
and the store eaves
have waiting lines?





what is rain
to a horny cricket ?
thick darkness


the ashes
of elders and frogs
together
in a graveyard
swapping stories


spiders, the
web they built inside
her, empty


brown out . . .
a hundred different
worlds with their
own set of wings
and nowhere to go


rain dances
on her roof without an
umbrella


typhoon!
on the telephone
talking to
a client, his puppy
takes her last breath


rambutan . . .
a sweet fruit hiding
behind thorns


brown out . . .
she burns candles
to ward off
a darkness filled
with childhood guilt


you don't scare
me typhoon, i too
blow off steam


are all the
women here takers
wanting to
be on magazine
covers in drag?


watching clouds
with his eyes closed . . .
hollow man


the frog monk
prays inside the
damp temple
asking for a
different song


calm down, dog;
form in your mind a
sutra stone


do you
dream of me at
night when
darkness walks past
you with a smile?


when the rain
stops, toads enter the
blow gun's mouth


deep sleep . . .
an urge to slip
into a
solder's armor
between dark moons


long before
dawn, comets
mimic dolphins


this morning,
rain and sun come to
the quiet . . .
nesting in a cup
of coffee


a retired man
sips morning coffee . . .
fluorescent tide


black pajama
people dodge flies
and locusts . . .
a thousand years
in deep tunnels


early morning . . . 
the stream between 
her legs



that moment
at night when the moon
stares at me
with a sheepish grin . . .
my wife steeping stars

September 26, 2009 : The Halo Halo People




the halo
halo people sleeping
on steps;
this heavy wind
the persistent rain






starless night . . .
ghosts lighting candles
for street kids



sleeping
above the water on
boards made
of bamboo and
dragonfly wings



storm warning . . .
the halo halo
dream of night


waking up
from the same dream
every night . . .
virgins dancing
in deep gorges


out of reach,
a brass ring waiting . . .
heavy rain


i bathe
in the light of a
nearby moon
crocheting hate into
neutered rhinos


dragonfly . . .
spare the rice field
that feeds us



opo will
will never strengthen
a people
used to being
another's monkey

* opo: tagalog for yes sir.


the meowing
of vendors selling
seasons



only you
can massage my feet
with tears
shed for the child you left
behind in samar


will buddha
step on the snails
eating rice?


deeper
inside i retreat
to the
wonderland i
painted as a child



tondo . . .
restless feet in
a dragon' belly



the trash
beside the river
tonight
reminds me of kids
swimming in the pasig



covered with
filth, the old beggar
greets winter


forever . . .
the toothless old
woman
posing for a photo
beyond the moon


spoiled rice . . .
a good day for our
worker's dog!


the monster
with his skin turned
inside out,
begging for money . . .
breathes the same air


like them, a
barren tree men
walk past

these people
love the company
of rats?
commune with cockroaches;
erase a child's dream?


scaling fish . . .
the pungent scent of
a buntis girl

* buntis: tagalog for pregnant


everywhere,
the naked little boy
without shoes
treating winter
like a children's toy



robert d. wilson
©2009

September 26-27th, 2009


i slept through
morning, waking
up to write
this tanka and watch
her bow to puzzles



mid winter .. .
the down syndrome boy
eats alone


the lantern
i bought for you
last night
was was sold to me
by lazy fireflies


darkness, rain . . .
a typhoon sleeping
on the couch


i bought my
friend a used cell phone
to text me
when she gets off work
. . . fencing canned sardines


i am not
a failure, dismissing
ghosts!


spoiled child!
you think the world revolves
around you . . .
there's more to rice
paddies than mirrors


centuries . . .
the evil around us
in crushed ice


waking up
from the same dream
every night . . .
virgins dancing
in deep gorges


storm warning . . .
the halo halo
dream of night


sleeping
above the water on
boards made
of bamboo and
dragonfly wings


starless night . . .
ghosts lighting candles
for street kids


robert d. wilson
© 2009