Look Ma, I'm a Writer!

Hey little tumbleweed,
come and fly to me,
roll down the hillside
and drop into the sea



*5 Feb 2012 (Batanes)

Cow was munching on some delicious green grass, when suddenly, a white bird landed beside him.

"'Ello!" said the white bird.

"Hello," said Cow.

"My name is 'Eron," said the bird. "What's your name?"

"Hello, Heron," he answered. "My name is Cow."

"'Ello, Cow!" said Heron. "I 'ave been flying for days. I feel tired and 'ungry. Is it all right to rest 'ere beside you?"

"It's okay," said Cow.

"What are you eating?" asked Heron.

"I am eating grass," answered Cow. "Do you want some?"

"I don't eat grass," said Heron sadly.

"How about mushrooms?" said Cow.

"I also don't eat mushrooms," said Heron.

"What do you eat?" asked Cow.

"I eat worms," said Heron. "And I also eat insects."

"When I pull on a tuft of grass," said Cow, "some worms and insects come out of the soil. You can eat them if you want."

"Cool!" said Heron.

As Cow munched on the grass, Heron ate the worms and insects that came out of the ground. They ate and ate until Heron was full.

"Thank you very much, Cow," said Heron. "'Ow can I repay you?"

"You're welcome," answered Cow. "No need to repay me."

"You are truly kind," said Heron. "Thank you very much. I 'ave to fly away now. Goodbye, Cow!"

"Goodbye, Heron!" said Cow.

Heron spread his wings and flew up into the sky. Cow watched as Heron disappeared, and then he went back to eating his grass.



*Conceived: Batanes, 5 Feb 2012

Pressure in my ears,
Stronger as we go higher.
Pop! And now it's gone.



*Over the South China Sea, 5 Feb 2012

The pilot loved
flying above the clouds
because he liked seeing
a rainbow ring
surrounding his plane's shadow
as it passed over
the large, white
swirl of cotton candy.


*Batanes, 4 Feb 2012

Congratulations! You'll be going to Big School now.

Here are five things I want you to remember.

1. Don't Cry
Crying is for babies. And you're not a baby anymore. You're a big boy. That's why you're in Big School. Also, bullies can smell tears.

2. Do Not Fight the Bullies
Bullies are bad. They like to punch smaller kids. They love to make smaller kids cry. Stay away from them.

3. Always Say the Magic Words 
Those magic words are "Please" and "Thank You". Say these words all the time. Say them to everyone. And everyone will love you.

4. Share and Share Alike
Do not be selfish. Share with your frineds. Share your food. Share your toys. And your friends will share as well. Everybody will have fun.

5. The Adults are Your Friends
Be nice to the janitor. He keeps your classroom clean. Be nice to the lunch lady. She cooks your food. Be nice to the security guard. He keeps you safe. Be nice to your teacher. She helps you learn.

Remember those things I told you. These are things you must know. They are important. Not only in Big School, but in life.


*29 Mar 2011

Isang hapon, masayang papunta si Trudis Liit sa basketball court. Dala-dala niya ang bagong niyang basketball. Ang bolang ito ay regalo sa kanya ni Kapitan Bong. Si Kapitan Bong ay ninong ni Trudis Liit.




Habang nagshu-shooting si Trudis Liit, may lumapit sa kanyang dalawang mas malaking bata.

"Trudis, ang ganda ng bola mo," sabi ng malaking bata. "Sali ka sa laro namin. Pero maghintay pa tayo ng pitong manlalaro, para maging sampu tayo."

"Sige!" masayang sagot ni Trudis. Pinasa niya ang kaniyang bola sa malalaking bata.




Maya-maya, may dumating na walong malalaking bata.

"Naku, sobra na tayo ng isa. Eleven na tayo," sabi ng pinakamalaking bata. "Trudis, mamaya ka nalang maglaro ha."

At naglaro ang sampung malalaking bata. Lumubog na ang araw at nag-gabi na. Hindi na nakapaglaro si Trudis Liit.

"Sorry, Trudis," sabi ng pinakamalaking bata. "Bukas nalang tayo maglaro."

Umuwi si Trudis Liit mag-isa. Ang bago niyang bola ay nadumihan na. At wala siyang pawis sa katawan, dahil hindi siya nakapaglaro kahit kaunti.




Kinabukasan, bumalik si Trudis Liit sa basketball court. Dala ulit niya ang kanyang bola.

Malayo pa lang siya, nakita niyang marami nang malalaking bata sa court.

Isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat, lima, anim, pito, walo, siyam, sampung batang malalaki.

Naisip ni Trudis na hindi na naman siya makakapaglaro. Tumalikod siya at dahan-dahang naglakad pauwi. Ngunit biglang may tumawag sa pangalan niya.

"Trudis! Pahiram muna ng bola mo!"

Lumapit ang isang malaking bata at hiniram ang bola ni Trudis. Hindi nakatanggi si Trudis. Mabait kasi siya at hindi madamot. Pero hindi na naman siya nakapaglaro.




Kinabukasan, hindi lumabas ng bahay si Trudis Liit. Kaya pinuntahan siya ng kanyang ninong na si Kapitan Bong.

"O Trudis, bakit wala ka sa court?" tanong ni Kapitan Bong.

"Hindi po kasi nila ako pinapalaro," malungkot na sagot ni Trudis. "Maliit po kasi ako at malalaki silang lahat."

"Gan'un ba?" sabi ni Kapitan Bong. "Sige, hintayin mo lang ako diyan."

Umuwi sandali si Kapitan. Pagbalik niya, may dala siyang bola ng football.

"O Trudis, para sa'yo," sabi ni Kapitan Bong. "Ngayon, tawagin mo lahat ng maliliit na bata, at magkita-kita tayo sa bukid."




Matapos ang isang oras, dumating sa bukid si Trudis Liit. Dala niya ang kanyang bagong football. May kasama rin siyang maraming mga batang maliliit. Nakita nila si Kapitan Bong na naghihintay na sa kanila.

"Lapit kayo, mga bata," sabi ni Kapitan Bong. "Tuturuan ko kayo mag-football."

Masayang naglaro ang mga maliliit na bata. Naglaro sila nang naglaro hanggang tumulo ang kanilang pawis. Naglaro sila hanggang lumubog ang araw. Kinabukasan, naglaro sila muli. Naglaro na sila araw-araw. At naglaro sila ng football hanggang sila'y tumanda.

"Waaah! I don't like chocolate! I want vanilla!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like chocolate ice cream! I want vanilla ice cream!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. We'll buy your vanilla ice cream in another store."




"Waaah! I don't like carrots! I want cake!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to eat carrots! I want to eat cake!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. Finish your carrots and you can eat cake."




"Waaah! I don't like Cartoon Network! I want Batibot!

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to watch Cartoon Network! I want to watch Batibot!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. Watch Cartoon Network first, then you can watch Batibot.




"Waaah! I don't like a t-shirt! I want a toy!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to buy a t-shirt! I want to buy a toy!"

"Listen to me. Stop crying. You're a big boy now. Big boys don't cry. Only babies cry. Are you a baby?"

"No, I'm a big boy now."

"So stop crying. I'll buy you this t-shirt for your birthday. And then I'll buy you a toy for Christmas. Okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. I'm sorry. I'll stop crying now."




And the big boy stopped crying since.



Sun, 5 Dec 2010.

Look, Mom!
I can write on my own.
I hold the pencil with my hand,
and make my mark on the paper.
See? That's my name!

Look, Mom!
I can eat on my own.
Fork on the left hand,
spoon on the right.
And I scoop the food into my mouth. Yum!

Look, Mom!
I can dress up on my own.
First my underwear,
then my shirt and shorts,
then my socks and shoes.

Look, Mom!
I can tie my shoes on my own.
A loop on the left,
and a loop on the right,
then I loop the two loops together.

Look, Mom!
I can read on my own.
Left to right, top to bottom,
turn the page, and do it again.
Now you don't have to read me a bedtime story!

Thank you, Mom,
for teaching me
how to do things
on my own.


*6 Sep 2010.

Fire. Fly. Fire. Fly.
Moving through the night
Blink on. Blink off.
Firefly's alight.

Shine once. Shine twice.
Glowing in the dark.
Night time. Bright time.
A concert in the park.

Tomorrow is my seventh birthday.
Papa will take me to Enchanted Kingdom.

Papa and Mama divorced before my first birthday.
Mama said Papa ran off and married a witch.

“Tomorrow your Papa has a surprise for you,” said Mama.
I asked her what kind of surprise will I get.
She said, “Tomorrow you shall meet your half-brother.”

I asked her what a half-brother looks like.
Is he all-left? Or purely right?
Is he like a manananggal, just waist-down? Or waist-up?

Mama laughed and explained to me that my half-brother was Papa’s son, but not hers.
“Who is his mama?” I asked.
She answered, “Why of course, it’s that witch your Papa married.”

I tried to imagine what a witch’s son looks like.
Probably a hunchback with one eye and a nose full of warts.
__________

Today I met my half-brother.
He wasn’t a one-eyed hunchback.
He wasn’t all-left or purely right.
He wasn’t like a manananggal.
He looked like me.

Today I spent my birthday in Enchanted Kingdom with Papa and my half-brother.
At the Ice Cream Parlor, we bought the same flavor.
At the video arcade, we played the same game.
At the Haunted House, we screamed in fright at the same ghost.

We both had the same smile.
We both had the same laugh.
And we both had the same tear in our eye when our day ended.

“Good-bye, Kuya!” my half-brother said.
“I hope you come on my birthday.”
__________

Tomorrow is my half-brother’s birthday.
His mama is not a witch.
His mama is rich.
Tomorrow we are going to Hong Kong Disneyland.


*circa 19 Jan 2007

One day, a little boy
asked the Universe,
"I wish to create
a playmate."

The Universe answered that
the boy must begin with
an Idea--
no body yet--
only form.

So the little boy
thought of an Idea
for a playmate.

"Then you must,"
said the Universe,
"wish with
all your might
for your Idea to
be born (with a body)
into reality."

The little boy wished
and wished and
wished very hard, until his
wishing tired him,
and he fell asleep.

When the boy woke up,
he could see a face
staring at his. That
face is familiar,
thought the boy,
and then he realized,
the one standing
before him
was his Idea,
except now, it had a face.

The little boy's
eyes twinkled,
and with a smile on his lips,
he breathed his last,
for his eyes could not handle
the sheer beauty of his
Idea incarnated.

Slick Spider spit
out a strand
of a lie.

Then he realized that
spitting lies was good.

So he
spit some
more strands
of lies,
and continued spitting them out,
until it became one huge web.

Then he wanted to
spit some
more, but the
web became too
sticky; Slick Spider
could no longer
get out.

He was trapped
in his own web.

And as he
tried to
spit some
more, he slowly
covered himself up, and
slowly suffocated
in his own spit.

Such is the sad, sad story of Slick Spider.


*Children's poem

I have a
monster in my
pocket.

I think
my monster
is a she.

My monster
is scary, with
big scary eyes.
A lot of kids
are afraid
of her. Because
my monster
does not like kids.

My monster
is cranky, and
has been known to
bite children's fingers off,
behaving like a brat
when she does not get
what she wants.

But
my monster is mean
only to others.
Not to me.

My monster
is really nice and sweet.
She flashes
her huge,
mischievous eyes
as she rubs
against my leg.

I have a
monster in my
pocket.

And she is mine.


*Children's poem

Foul-Mouthed Fred is a bad little lad;
he’s the kid most parents hate.
He curses a lot whenever he talks,
and to think that the boy’s only eight!

Foul-Mouthed Fred is avoided by kids,
which is why his friends are so few.
“Don’t play with that boy,” their parents all say.
“He might teach you a curse word or two.”

Foul-Mouthed Fred doesn’t mean to offend;
he was just brought up that way,
growing up in a jungle of childish adults
who never control what they say.

Foul-Mouthed Fred isn’t really that bad,
except for his vile, verbal ways.
He may curse like a convict and talk like a thug,
but his heart is in the right place.

Foul-Mouthed Fred and I are good friends,
and I’ve been trying to help make him see
that speaking bad words is really uncool.
But why won’t he listen to me?


*circa December 2006-January 2007

Can you see the crocodiles?
One…Two…Three
Three thrill-seeking crocodiles
surfing in the sea.

Can you see the ostriches?
Four…Five…Six
Six skateboarding ostriches
practicing their tricks.

Can you see the polar bears?
Seven…Eight…Nine
Nine nauseous polar bears
hanging from a vine.

Can you see the jellyfish?
Ten…Eleven…Twelve
Twelve twinkling jellyfish
crawling up the shelf.


*circa November or December 2006