Two Poems by Fhen M

 

Pavilion  

 

kiosk was built beside a school building  

town square had no theatre stage yet 

when fiesta or election campaign commenced  

a mic was placed along proscenium arch  

behind a stone balustrade or pier cap 

 

a congressman spoke before spectators  

we can't hear his speech for he’s a photo  

a senate president, master of sound bite 

appeared as if he had an idea 

but the bulb above his head was not lit 

(I prefer a government run like heaven  

and corrupt politicians go to hell) 

 

faces familiar and faces unknown 

old women paraded around town 

walked past the neoclassical pavilion 

a mayor & public officials sat 

waited to deliver empty speeches 

 

a pavilion was not a pavilion  

until students enjoyed the scenery 

of a quiet town plaza:  

a tree swaying in the cool afternoon, 

the smell of the sea breeze, 

the dancing leaf before life dries up. 

 

 

 

 

Obelisk 

 

obelisk, marker for unknown soldiers: 

maybe freedom fighters who defended  

the farmlands against foreign encroachment, 

maybe farmers who brought sharpened bolos 

could be my ancestor or his neighbour 

maybe bodies were properly buried. 

 

in creaky Egypt, corpse was mummified 

beside him were the Book of the Dead 

escape the devils from the depths of hell, 

a scarab amulet of lapis lazuli 

that won't bear witness against the soul  

(don't tell the Jackal deity of my eavesdropping). 

 

at town plaza, obelisk was erected  

sun God Ra’ s said to be an obelisk 

falcon head, sun-disk resting on his head; 

the heart lighter than an ostrich feather 

bird god will fly the soul to Osiris  

in paradise, he’ll till the land with reeds.

 

Fhen M. studied the academic subjects “Writing in the Discipline,” “The Literature of the Philippines,” and “The Literature of the World” at Eastern Visayas State University. His Waray poem “Uyasan” (“Toy” in English”) was published in a collection of literary works entitled 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪: 15 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘸. His English verses appeared in 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢 anthology series published by Clarendon House, including "Lighthouse," “Seaport,” “January Constellations,” among others. Red Penguin Books’ 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘰𝘧-𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 published his piece “Outside the Block Universe". His poem “Sea Snail” is included in 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢/𝘍𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 by Open Shutter Press. Fhen M. submitted verses in Waray for the 5th Lamiraw Creative Writing Workshop, including the 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 “Duha nga mga pagtug-an” (translated in English as “Two confessions”). David Genotiva, Merlie Alunan, and Victor Sugbo were some of the distinguished panelists of this writing workshop held from the 5th to the 7th of November 2008. His Binisaya poems “To View the World,” “Those who were Left in Cancabatoc,” and other verses won the 1st Chito Roño Literary Awards.