Dalahican Port, Lucena City. En route to Marinduque

 

            for the fellows of the Palihang Rogelio Sikat 2012

 

 

Midafternoon among the ropes

And winches on the deck 

Of a docked cargo boat

Hauling beer and dry goods,

His face and hands gaunt 

And burnt in the late summer:

He works his thumb furiously

On the keypad of his Nokia,

Skipping the vowels, keeping

The consonants (though he couldn’t

Tell one from the other),

Catching or couching his own

Anxiety in code to soothe

The worry at the other end

Of the void, who must get his

Precise message: HWAG K MGALA2

DARATNG PNGENROL N JUNYR

 

 

May 15, 2012