here's a poem i wrote a few years back during a planning seminar and workshop while i was still with the spectrum. while on a short break we were asked to write a poem (or at least try to), and i wrote this as quickly as i could, a poem based on an idea floating around in my head at the time. i don't know why i had that idea there, but i wrote it down anyway. i haven't had the initiative (or the courage) to polish it since then, although it's been published in the 2006 edition of the scribe.
- vincent pido
Dog eaters
Bantay,
my best friend,
wags his tail
and licks my face
as we run through the fields
in a playful race.
Bantay,
my best friend,
barks in obedience
as I call him
for us to go back home
before the day ends.
Bantay,
my best friend,
ends his meager meal
of day-old left-overs contentedly
and sits on his haunches
leaning beside me.
Tatay,
my worst enemy,
and his other drunkard friends
are outside,
laughing,
and drinking,
and eating.
Tatay,
my worst enemy,
brings out the knife,
the chopping board,
the frying pan,
and the spices.
Tatay,
My worst enemy,
shouts at me,
shoves me away,
and pulls Bantay
by his wagging tail.
Bantay,
my best friend,
wags his tail
innocently
as he meets his bloody end.
- vincent pido
Dog eaters
Bantay,
my best friend,
wags his tail
and licks my face
as we run through the fields
in a playful race.
Bantay,
my best friend,
barks in obedience
as I call him
for us to go back home
before the day ends.
Bantay,
my best friend,
ends his meager meal
of day-old left-overs contentedly
and sits on his haunches
leaning beside me.
Tatay,
my worst enemy,
and his other drunkard friends
are outside,
laughing,
and drinking,
and eating.
Tatay,
my worst enemy,
brings out the knife,
the chopping board,
the frying pan,
and the spices.
Tatay,
My worst enemy,
shouts at me,
shoves me away,
and pulls Bantay
by his wagging tail.
Bantay,
my best friend,
wags his tail
innocently
as he meets his bloody end.
7 comments:
It must have been my subconscious mind which suggested that you pen a poem called "Dogeaters," presumably because at one point, I encountered this poem of yours. I read all your poems, you know. This one is a real heart-breaker for a dog-lover like me. - Miss H.
I like how your poems look--they're so inviting because there's a lot of breathing space for the reader. This, in turn, gives your poems a good balance since your themes are usually heavy and somber.
from robert:
oh! this one's the first poem i read from you. after i've read this, i made it a point to check all your writings in every edition of scribe.
from robert:
hope you could write something about battered chickens too. i think they are the poorest of all creatures. i don't wanna eat battered chicken - i will only feel violent of myself.
from juh
This one is the simplest poem I've ever read from you. As a dog lover myself, I really feel for the poor creature.
i'm sure i could've written it better, i mean more poetically acrobatic and all, but i just can't figure out how to.
i just feel comfortable with the way that i had written it the first time around, i guess, that i didn't have the heart to dissect it afterwards. it's just a simple, honest, and vivid poem that my mind happened to give birth to one fine day, and i embraced it the way it was born.
and robert, i did write a poem about a chicken, too, and it was published in the same edition (the most recent one) as the one that contained Three Little Pigs.
i'll post it here, too, and i'll be waiting for your comments. don't worry about it, i figure you could just be having the same dejavu moment as ms. A had when she told me to write a poem about dogeaters. haha
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