Bang, bang baby! (Second Shot) By Virginia J. Pasalo   i prayed for change the old to exchange for the unknown tomorrow   the southern wind blew carrying something new a promise of change   he talks, he changes everything he says, he changes   in or out? in or…

On the tip of my tongue By Virginia J. Pasalo    

Ants and flies in my coffee cup By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo    

Pirdona By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE first time I heard “Pirdona” was from my grandmother, Bai Atang. She was on the altar praying, asking Jesus for forgiveness for sins she committed, and for sins she may have committed that she is not aware of. There are many things that…

Jollibee V. Luna By Virginia J. Pasalo   CURIOUS as to how mothers are treated on Mother’s Day, I went to Jollibee V. Luna, the only branch with a middle initial and a family name. The V. represents the mother’s family name, an identity reduced to one letter and a…

“Change is coming” By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT is the 21st century and we are still behaving as a feudal society. The rich still has priority over lands, forests and marine resources that can be dispensed by the state while the common people are obliged to live on the…

Bang, bang, Baby! By Virginia J. Pasalo   I DO not have a President. A lot of my friends do not have a President. For reasons already articulated and expounded ad infinitum, the choices are just not choices. For a population who wants dynasties to end, for greed to be…

A season for Sison By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo    

Outsider By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   A poem dedicated to the Feudal Overlord of the Manila North Road.   OUTSIDER   outside the stump wonders “whatever happened to my limbs?”   have they become the floors on whose firmness a child anchors her first wobbly strides until she can gallop…

The Candidate By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   watch and waltz dictators or dictators on the mend saviors promising to kill, to save you and why should you be afraid? Didn’t someone assure you he will not harm you while he sits near a gun waiting to smoke, at his will?…