1861 Edition of Charles Baudelaire's Fleurs du mal

Poems from Charles Baudelaire's Fleurs du mal / Flowers of Evil.

--andoy
13 December 2005

Pinoy Poets Website

This is the new revised and updated Pinoy Poets website. Looks a lot better than the old web site. Well worth the trip.

--andoy
9 December 2005

[poem] on weddings: six senryu

a mother weeps in silence
in a churchful of smiles
her daughter at the altar

he mods, says, "I do"
head turns to the bride
whispers, "my life before me"

happy steps she makes
while he struts beside her
going through the rice shower

evening draws and getting dark
he looks at the wedding guests
"be patient," the bride whispers

hand cupping chin
he brings spoon to her lips
his baby, his bride

while the world spins
twirling and dissying
the dance continues in bed

--
--andoy
7 November, 2005

(Share) Ode to Wine by Pablo Neruda

Ode To Wine
by Pablo Neruda


Day-colored wine,
night-colored wine,
wine with purple feet
or wine with topaz blood,
wine,
starry child
of earth,
wine, smooth
as a golden sword,
soft
as lascivious velvet,
wine, spiral-seashelled
and full of wonder,
amorous,
marine;
never has one goblet contained you,
one song, one man,
you are choral, gregarious,
at the least, you must be shared.
At times
you feed on mortal
memories;
your wave carries us
from tomb to tomb,
stonecutter of icy sepulchers,
and we weep
transitory tears;
your
glorious
spring dress
is different,
blood rises through the shoots,
wind incites the day,
nothing is left
of your immutable soul.
Wine
stirs the spring, happiness
bursts through the earth like a plant,
walls crumble,
and rocky cliffs,
chasms close,
as song is born.
A jug of wine, and thou beside me
in the wilderness,
sang the ancient poet.
Let the wine pitcher
add to the kiss of love its own.

My darling, suddenly
the line of your hip
becomes the brimming curve
of the wine goblet,
your breast is the grape cluster,
your nipples are the grapes,
the gleam of spirits lights your hair,
and your navel is a chaste seal
stamped on the vessel of your belly,
your love an inexhaustible
cascade of wine,
light that illuminates my senses,
the earthly splendor of life.

But you are more than love,
the fiery kiss,
the heat of fire,
more than the wine of life;
you are
the community of man,
translucency,
chorus of discipline,
abundance of flowers.
I like on the table,
when we're speaking,
the light of a bottle
of intelligent wine.
Drink it,
and remember in every
drop of gold,
in every topaz glass,
in every purple ladle,
that autumn labored
to fill the vessel with wine;
and in the ritual of his office,
let the simple man remember
to think of the soil and of his duty,
to propagate the canticle of the wine.

[poem] running away

running away

leaning back on the wall
your droll smile paints your face
and your eyes fix on mine
as it has for most of the evening

as if you called me
I come near
and nearer
leaning over you
"I apologize
but I cannot take the kiss
you want me to take"
I bow my head
my lips dry and trembling
I graze your cheek
and I turn around and leave

--andoy
3 October 2005

[poem] six senryu

six senryu

Waiting in the restaurant
flowers and Okamoto on hand
arguing with the birds and the bees

Dark stormy night
the world twists and turns
wild dancing under the rain

Heart pounding and excited
shivering in the rain
racing against lightning

I enter the door
wet and panting
your eyes open wide in surprise

Caterwaul escapes me
while inside your head
I twitch and moan

Tears rolling down
puckered lips
kissing memories goodbye

-- andoy
6 october 2005

[poem] another temptation

another temptation

placing finger to your lips
softly so the others would not hear
I said, "may the wish be the act"

You tipped your cap
grabbed my beer bottle
looked me in the eye

and took a long drink

-- andoy
3 October 2005

[poem] senryu

senryu

rain pelting the hut
restless rustle in the night
moans and giggles

--andoy
3 October 2005

[poem] haiku (2)

haiku (2)

restless rustle in the night
moans and whimpers
rain pelting the hut

--andoy
3 October 2005

[poem] haiku

haiku

sun rising slowly
a halo of blinding red
fire tree in bloom

-- andoy
3 October 2005

[poem] prowling, andoy castellano, 26 september 2005

prowling

a slight tremor, a nervous tic
skin crawling with warmth
eyelids flicker in animated frenzy
nostrils flare in time with the heartbeat
inviting, daring, challenging
welcoming
a pause and a half
a half step back
disguise the hunger

--andoy
26 September 2005

[poem] salaryman's day (12 senryu), andoy castellano, 13 September 2005

salaryman's day (12 senryu)

opening the wardrobe
white shirts, black pants
salary man

bread and hot coffee
wife nags after breakfast
stomach grumbles loud

bright sky morning
worker leaves for work
bathed in drab sunlight

brilliant colored billboards
big houses, rich suburbs
commuter pass with eyes closed

jeepney stereo
loudly blares morning news
while passengers sleep

numbers floating on the computer monitor
eyes strained
and painfully cramped fingers

hot noon sun
burning his nape
having lunch on the sidewalk

eyes spacing out
adding money on ledgers
riches not his

dark sky after office hours
a woman crosses the street
red umbrella blooms

walking in downtown rain
racing faceless crowds
tired feet in wet shoes

he massages liniment
on his limbs
evening cologne

kissing wife good night
eyes close and dream
writing finish to another day

--andoy castellano
13 September 2005

Optional Holiday?

Sunday, August 28, being the last Sunday of the month, is National Heroes Day. And in line with this, Press Secretary Bunye clarified last Friday that Monday August 29 (today) would not be a holiday. Along came Saturday, and Executive Secretary Ermita announces that the President has decided that Monday would be a holiday. This statement in itself was not a pronouncement as the official announcement would come later. Sunday, the Office of the President decides to release the announcement that there would be no classes in public and private schools, as well as government offices. There would be work in private companies. Monday morning and I think they did this just to muddy, perplex and confuse an already confused citizenry, they qualify that it is optional. And the morning hasn't fully started yet, and they have a rejoinder that if it isn't too late to announce, then the private companies can call it a holiday.

Now I ask, is the President just PMSing or does she have Alzheimer's?

--andoy
29 August 2005

[SHARE] the day you said goodnight, Hale

The Day You Said Goodnight
by Hale


Take me as you are
Push me off the road
The sadness, I need this time to be with you
I'm freezing in the sun
I'm burning in the rain
The silence I'm screaming
Calling out your name

And I do
Reside in your light
Put out the fire with me and find
Yeah, you lose the side of your circles
That's what I'll do if we say goodbye

To be is all I got to be
And all that I see
And all that I need this time
To me the life you gave me
The day you said goodnight

The calmness in your face
That I see through the night
The warmth of your light is pressing onto us
You didn't ask me why
I never would have known
Oblivion is falling down

If you could only know me like your prayers at night
Then everything between you and me will be alright

She's already taken
She's already taken
She's already taken me
The day you said goodnight.

-=0=-

-=0=-

This is quite popular these days. And I catch myself humming or singing snippets of the song. Keeps on running round and round my head. Must be the blue skies and dark rain type of weather that we're having. Downer.

Good song though.

--andoy
9 August 2005

Pinoypoets - sharing is enriching: August Pinoypoet of the month: Anne Stephanie Cruz

Pinoypoets - sharing is enriching: August Pinoypoet of the month: Anne Stephanie Cruz

Congratulations to Anne Stephanie Cruz, Pinoypoet of the Month for August.

[Share] Shade of Black, 7/16/05

Lightscapes: [POEM] Shade of Black, 7/16/05

Shade of Black
Mitz, 7/16/05

The phone rings
and the night bleeds, cut
by the sharpness of noise.
My ear, cold against
the receiver, deciphers
burning decibels:
"You've hurt me so much,"
over thin wires connecting
kilometers of pain.
"This is the second time
you've broken a promise."
Heartbeats become deafening throbs
in the ensuing stillness,
pale as withered moonlight.
"You've broken me,"he says,
"I've once believed
we have the same ideals.
You have changed."
Tears are invisible
in the shadows,
save for the errant drop
that catches moonlight,
gleaming like the last
ember of hope.
"Remember my promise
to marry you next year?
Guess what? You're right.
People do change."
The night, the oppresive darkness,
turns a darker shade
of black.

-=0=-

This is a poem by Michelle Lanuza. A good friend though we've only seen each other face-to-face twice.

--andoy
19 July 2005

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Last Saturday, I picked up my copy of the latest Harry Potter book before we (me and my family) went to Sta. Lucia to watch a movie, "Fantastic Four".

Unless the author changes her mind, this will be the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter series. As such, I can say that it delivers. It answers several questions: How can you kill Voldemort? What was the Riddle diary (in "Chamber of Secrets") all about? How can Professor Snape get back to the Death Eaters and report on them? Who takes over as Gryffindor Quidditch captain? Why was Tom Riddle born in an orphanage? How can Harry train to become an Auror? These set the stage for the next (and last) book of the series.

The larger questions remain, however. And these include new questions, like: "Who is 'R.A.B.'?"; and "Will Harry Potter kill Voldemort?"

It's a good, easy read, with almost an emphasis on simplification. J.K.Rowling's style is not like Asimov who ties up everything too nicely. Rowling leaves some loose ends which are self-explanatory. She also leaves some untied for the reader to review earlier books and to serve as teasers for succeeding books.

I think I'll be re-reading Harry Potter 1-6 for the next year or two, until the last one comes along.

--andoy
18 July 2005

a terminal trick

Forwarded message:

i hope this isnt too far off topic for this group but i thought i
should share this

goto the terminal with an internet connection and type

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

then watch star wars episode 4 (the original) in ascii text ;)
have fun
`km

Yuk, what kind of dumb menu system is that? Oh, so that is Windows!

-=0=-

I picked this up on the MacOSX Yahoo groups courtesy of Kris Murray.  Enjoy.

--andoy
15 July 2005

[poem] Conspiracy

by Andoy, Mitz, Steph and Bambina
posted at Pinoy Poets 4 July 2005

Rolling through landscapes lost,
smoky eyes in a dark red-lit room,
cacophony of white noise foiled against
distinct syllables of poems newly writ.

Listening to echoes of words ghosting by
entwining, undulating like twin snakes--
verses birthed in a flash of lightning
swallowed by silence,
slithering slowly out from its hollow
like notes from an indian's flute.

Tonight, we conspire to write.

-=0=-

I forgot to post this collaborative poem on this blog. I've not
posted any new poems with Pinoy Poets since then. And that's quite a
long drought.

--andoy
13 July 2005

(Share) Somnambule, Cielo Maaliw

Poem was first posted by Cielo at her blog.

Somnambule

Je mesure chaque soufflée argentée
que m'envoie la lune;

Je te vois, lucide, accentué
sculpté par la lumière;

Je t'entends murmurer, renvoyé
en échos sur les murs;

Je te sens, ma peau s'en est brulée
de baisers et caresses purs;

Je rêve, mais je peux déclarer
que c'est toi -- j'en suis sûre.


Rough translation:

Sleepwalker

I measure each silvery breath
sent in by the moon;

I see you, lucid, focused,
sculpted by the light;

I hear you, whisper,
echoed by the walls;

I feel you, my skin tingles
from pure kisses & caresses;

I dream, but I so declare
that it's you -- I'm sure of it.



~~ Cielo Maaliw (Vendredi 1 juillet, 2005)

-=0=-

--
--andoy
7 July 2005