Summer Once... (Tanka)

There was a time when
We were once innocent too
When swimming was fun
And summer with you was clean
Why did to do that? You Cad!

When Meeting She (Pushkin Sonnet)

Treat the next lady to coffee
Ask her of her day and listen
Perhaps she may reveal coyly
Of what they think falsely of men

Pertaining to bad habits and
Good virtues we should reprimand
Thinking less of shallow statures
Provoking sad caricatures

That I myself may prevent too
When meeting another maiden
With class, skilled in speech and a pen
Telling words never meant then

So neither tomorrow could kill
The lonely heart the She would will

[a,B,a,B,c,c,D,D,e,F,F,e,G,G]

NOTE: Lower case schemes are feminine rhyme. Russian Sonnet.

Swine (Playwright)

(Scene: Jane opens the door and finds trash, bottles, and food containers littered everywhere in her apartment!)

JANE.
What happened to my apartment!? There's trash everywhere! Oh my God, who did this?

(Enter DAN.)

DAN.
Jane, you're home!

JANE.
Dan! I should have known! I trusted you with my keys, and this is what you do: you break my stuff while you and your friends role play all day long. What do you have to say for yourself?

(Enter LANA, hiding behind a door, but peeking, with towel- naked.)

LANA.
(coy): My lord, thy chambers hath gone cold.

DAN.
(pretentious): Now Jane, you know how dedicated I am to my Live Action Role Playing. I never back down from a challenge.

JANE.
It's over. We're breaking up.

DAN.
A difficult challenge, but if you say so!

JANE.
And you're paying for the damages.

DAN.
There's a spell in RPG's for that. When you reenter the room, magically everything returns to normal again!

(Exit DAN. The girls wait. He never comes.)

LANA.
He deserted me. We were to make love 'til the morning rise!

JANE.
Please! You'll be faking it anyways!

(Curtain.)

The Girl (Terza Rima)

She is beautiful, such a youthful face
She is beautiful, so becoming
She is beautiful, with poise and grace

What a mystery, I heard her singing
What a mystery, I've watched her stroll
What a mystery, then she went missing

How I miss her, that untouched angel soul
How I miss her, of temptation's sultry
How I miss her, by wolves, spiders, and all

And I dream, perhaps serendipity
And I dream, we would meet by destiny

Bitterness (Terza Rima)

Killing life when death is absent, making
An hour trench slowly through a day
Repeating one's nihilism perverting

Shaking truth with steadfast pride away
Prying into scheming persistence
Nullifying what say "Come what may!"

Proving least of love's existence
And most of all that of God's presence

Crisis (Vers Libre)

Did you ever wake to such dissatisfaction
You'd cry
Without tears or
Without hate or
Without much else to hope against
That life seemed to never end
Immortally remorseful
Wishing for something real
To touch
To feel
Making differences
Even in secret
Though knowing well that
You may still be alone?

I did
I am
I don't know when it will end
If ever?

Red Flag (English Sonnet)

Reason is clouded by animosity
Defending pride through compensating prize
To lead popular ideals and cross them
As my word announced contracts an ill price

Sound the alarms and report all codes
Recruit bodies to battle on foreign worlds
Loading arsenal on their backs and wheels
Sending tear filled letters to their little girls

Soon after when time passes we lose
Though good for the generation after
But the wine we once savored has died
As scarlet poisoned the roots that matter

Reconciling with transgressions caught
Enstilling propeganda we once fought

Children's Tea (Dorsimbra)

But the only word to escape is 'please'
In remembrance of what once was before
Seeing that perfect quarter length smile
Sipping tea she didn't like that I implore

Tipping and drip from the brim of her lip
Drip. Drip-drip, Drip-drop--
And sugar and milk would follow as well
And stain!

Her mother did scold us for that little stain
Wishing it'd last, that childhood of ours
Her mother's glare would ask if she should stay
But the only word to escape is 'please'

Samurai (Choka)

Place her title brim
When you sheathe with laquer skin

Caressing the sheen
Of stained metal-rusting red

Singing this lullaby
Upon the black wood shelter

"Sacred tool of man,
Extend my intention's law

Slumbering daemon
Of worthy soul you will feast

Neither fool or child
Will dishonor your being

As bushido lives
The spirit of musashi

Enslaving evil
For the will of our god

AS a shogunate
Drawing blood for his country

Integrity speaks
As you swing in testament"

Caressing ill fate
By cleansing chaos with death

Perpetuating
The art of murder until
I am of no need

Sunday (Dorsimbra)

Oh sunny day, how I love you so
You bring the best out of family and friend
I see smiles at peace and light hearted hands
Children at play and brethrens attend

Church and weddings
Picnics and Parties
Congregating with love
Watching football mayhem

Lounging at home knowing well of this day
Apart from any other from the week
As it is the first of everything
Oh sunny day, how I love you so

Fridays (Dorsimbra)

So much to do with such little time
Making up for events neglected before
Dreaming of this day, oh lovely day
Wishing you had come sooner than now, or—

Is this just that?
April first
Bragging my last kiss to myself
On Sunday brunch

To only miss more than I had ever
Paying a toll for living a day
What fun can justify my yearnings?
So much to do with such little time

Mondays (Dorsimbra)

I am already weary of today
As hopes come tomorrow, and I must wait
Lamenting of yester-thoughts once again
Challenging this monotony’s sad fate

I wake to sleep
And sleep to wake
Entertaining boredom
Withering away

It could be easier if I weren’t here
But circumstances cannot be helped, so—
I’m left to stay and challenge my time, though
I am already weary of today

Filipino- American Complex (Dorsimbra)

Denying their mistake of my becoming
To be raised in a foreign continent
I am removed from my culture, to
Manage this identity in lament

What do they expect
Of me, of this, and now
They blame my freedom
To justify their fate

And wish to live like it was before, once
Knowing their fellow man- vice and virtue
In recognition of their upbringing
Denying their mistake of my becoming

Tallest Tall (Childrens)

There once was a tall man here
Whose chin stuck high as the clouds
And feet low beneath the sea

His skin was light as snow
And hair which glossed in gold
Would shine above them all

Of whom he would not know
For they weren't found at all
As he was the tallest tall

Weather This Year: 2008 (Childrens)

In the summer
When it rains
The air is thick as water

Drizzle and drip
Spilling to splash
The sun won't come to bother

And just when you think
It all came to pass
More will come to smother

For in the winter
When it is cool
Snow will be arid clutter

For when this year came
The sky was confused

Treble: The Button Quail (Childrens)

Treble the bird was a tiny bird
As tiny as a needle pin
Short by a poppy of three
Or below half a stem from two

Treble the bird was a fuzzy bird
Soft as a pillow and pedal
A crown of feathers to brush
And wings that whisper and hush

Treble the bird was the loudest bird
Crowed like a rooster in barns
Cawed like a raven would caw
Sharp as a whistle and more

Treble the bird was unlike many
For hatchlings grew from tiny eggs
Soon calling chicks to chickens
But not Treble, for he was neither

Treble the bird is a button quail
All grown up fitting your hand
Runs like rain and just as quiet
But be careful, he talks back

Yes, Treble talks back, but not like us
For after all he is a bird
Yet unlike other birds
You can understand Treble

So if ever you understand a quail
Listen to what he has to say
And talk back, because he might just be
Treble the bird

NOTE: Children's poetry typically follows a tetrameter.

Beautiful Mona (English Sonnet)

Oh beautiful Mona, look at yourself
The world adores you, though nothing has been said
A view of your visage, a scent from your skin
The frock above your brow and my eyes mended

Will you ever speak to me, I am unworthy
As clear as moon beams to sunrise, I am
Compared to you, a wish is close enough
In a twinkle or blink you shine, Madame

May your youth claim eternity today
For summer will soon turn cold each morrow
And without you this solstice would be nothing
But another blue heart stained in sorrow

Oh beautiful Mona, you are so much
A marvel I, myself, could never touch

Discouraging In-Laws (Blank Verse)

You are cruel with that tongue
A weapon worse than beauty
For more than lies spread about
Unneeded strife and so much more

So what if I'm not macho
Or that I 'm Filipino
I speak my mind and
Can outwit especially you

Just because your daughter's hurt
Your insecure pride, you run
And torment me since you know
That I'll respect those she loves

Pity yourself ignorant whelp
There are hearts that need mending
And I'm not alone
You'll cry someday seeing your own

Sixty-Nine (Dorsimbra)

Exploding in milk, this upward frown
Flexing and whipping her lusty web
Allures me close to offer bread
As sweet as candy or love instead

She brushes my hair
Holds me close
We touch like fire
And ember blows

My breath burns deep within
Aside from wits, I'm sure to win
Kissing her lips before I drown
Exploding in milk, this upward frown

Confront Us (English Sonnet)

What words resound between your ears lady?
When your champagne glistens by my cup
Sparkling that twinkle tip setup
To soften your gasp in restrain, or--

Are you thinking of something before
Of moon beams crossing our hearts in two
Laced in memoir blue, encased to be free
Merely waiting for time to heal one clue

I reach for you, clasping that old regret
To hope that perhaps today you'd forget
There is a chance to try again Lenore
Just think about it, just you and me

Our eyes can retire from wedding bells
Yet why can't we think of anyone else?