by Charlene Mae Olesco Tugano being – n. “You want me to take your picture?” you asked, a lame attempt at small talk. “Go away,” I said. You laughed at the absurdity of my response. You didn’t think someone could say that on your first encounter. usage: “We are all...

by Trishia Gail G. Fernandez “Denormalization”. My fiction prof once told me that was the function of literature– to make us see the ordinary and the mundane in an entirely different way: The pandemic came in like unwelcome poetry. The same desk you sit on everyday, is still the same...

by Juan Pablo Pangalangan Socrates 2020 was not a good year for Father Simon of the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Barangay Del Monte, Quezon City. Actually, it was not a good year for anyone in any part of the earth. But it was a particularly confounding one for...

by Faith Arlette Villasfer Bongco Noun. the bitter-sweetness of having arrived in the future, seeing how things turn out, but not being able to tell your past self. Had I known that that would be the last time, I would’ve laughed and told you “You’re an idiot” I would’ve stayed...

by Radji Rashed Castillo Abonado Taong dalawang libo’t dalawampu Araw ng Martes, ika-tatlo ng Marso ‘di ko nabatid huling araw na ‘yon Huling pagsulyap ko na pala sa’yo Malinaw pa sa kaisipan ko Ikaw ay hinanap sa libo libong kanto Sa mga gusaling matatayog Mag ala-sais na, ilang minuto nalang...

by Antonio Ramon Liwag Castillo As in mango season, where seeds and bones confuse themselves anew. Every morning angling the urn, parallel to sunlight, to see what we’ve collected. Leaves, on the rain that brought them there, and dirt. So, empty. Or, the everyday. Or, the natural. Had the earth...

by Nicholas Felix L. Ty two ways to get in the first one is easy the second takes a tad bit more work either way click or input passcode may be required automatically generated you’ll probably get it wrong the first time the rules of etiquette took some getting used...

by Ruby Roselle Lorenzo Tugade To learn the law is to discover words one has to use for the rest of one’s life. Germane. Enjoin. Estopped.   There are things I would rather say simply. There are things I would rather feel simply. I wonder, what pleasure do we gain...

by Rina Noelle Sabban Opinion I used to say I’d visit. Two years, four years, Six years gone by Like the muted snap of a shutter I hardly felt them pass. In each of your photographs, I see through your eyes– Blue wings spread, a resting tiger butterfly, The transient...

by Ma. Cecilia Panganiban Nagtalon After the Lockdown: Braving New Paths A Better Me After This Worst Time “Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey”. This is one of my favorite quotations about life’s challenges written by Roy T....

by Niegel Fanio Simon No one told us when the barricade would be removed. For months, our nondescript street had been separated from the main thoroughfare by a haphazard barrier. It was obviously made from scrap wood, but ours was concededly better compared to the other streets whose barricades were...

by Mark Joseph Zomel Arisgado Pinagbubuhol tayo ng ating mga hikab. Kung gabi’y mapanghamon at nais mong maglaho, Kumapit ka sa bigkis, sabay tayong lilipad. Ilang semestre tayong sumasabak sa dahas. Sa kalsada’t sa klase, ang takot ay ‘tinago. Pinagbubuhol tayo ng ating mga hikab. Nang dumating ang Marso, di...

by Jon Gabriel Pallugna Villanueva Stepping outside felt like stepping into an alien world. I was among the last set of people that the government let out since the pandemic begun four years ago. The doctors, the government, and my family refused to let me out. You’re HIV positive. It’s...

by Nicolette Sioson Malferrari It is during these difficult times where we remember the things that really matter: family, friendship, and dreams.

by Jan Fredrick Pangilinan Cruz   Ang Oktubre ay buwan ng luha’t buntong-hininga. Naisip ko ito habang minamasdan ang nakagapos na mga kamay ni Reina Mae sa telebisyon.   Ang Oktubre ay buwan ng pagkawala ng kamusmusan. Naisip ko ito nang inalis ang tanikala. Itinaas ng dalagang ina ang kamao...

by Bella Zenaida Torres Desamito Undeniably, we all panicked when the Government announced a total lockdown for the entire country by the end of the first quarter of 2020. It was so sudden that everybody was caught unprepared. At first, I thought this lockdown would only last for 15 days...

by Nicholas Felix L. Ty Be wary of the limit To keep it brief and clever Two hundred eighty characters For the stuff we say on Twitter Politics, sports, showbiz, love Whatever you desire Boundless is the fodder for The stuff we say on Twitter How much further can you...

by Joanne Rose Sace Lim Patong-patong na mga libro Pinagkainang mga plato Ang aking mga katabi sa magdamag Tila hinatulan ng parusa Nang nahiwalay sa pamilya Nasa iisang bahay ngunit mag-isa Paghayag ng pag-aaruga Sa pagbibigay ng distansya Gagawin upang di na ako mahawa Dati-rati ay nagsilbi na Himlayan para...

by Ruby Roselle Lorenzo Tugade Addiction, as a confession, kills. Dependency is too clinical. Habit, instead, squarely places a need against the foreground of the familiar. Everyday pain is a creature that transforms. They say a pattern of chemical subservience is killing a country. To live in prayer, the same...

by Kevin Villanueva Cleofas I. I dream of Spring that never comes, And shouts the words I need to hear. Sing to me birdsong or a willful rhyme, A tune the mind may grasp for life. It’s true I’m mighty fine, I’m all too sure, Deep crimson must this day...

by Jan Fredrick Pangilinan Cruz Tikom ang mga pinto ng aklatan ngayong pandemya. Walang yabag ng mga paa. Walang maya’t mayang bungisngis ng silya.   Naalala kong ganito tayo nagsimula. Sa katahimikan. Tanging mga mata ang nag-uusap sa pagitan ng mesa palitan ng ngiti’t sulyap sa bawat umaga.   Ang...

by John Ray Allen Castillon Bisarra Pebrero. Iniiwasan ko ng tingin ang mga barahang kanina pa binabalasa ng propesor. Isang pangalan lang naman ang hindi dapat makuha— ang akin. Nanindak ang titig niya mula kanan tungong kaliwa. Ngumisi at saka pumuslit ng isa. Nanliit ang kanyang mga mata sa sukat...

by Jon Gabriel Pallugna Villanueva When I was twelve and at our mother’s funeral, Ellaine had asked me what people felt when they died. “I don’t know,” I told her. “Maybe mom knows.” Years later, I imagine that she found out. Her neighbors found her hanging by the balcony at...

by John Ray Allen Castillon Bisarra Nanaginip ako ng sanlibong matatabang linta na sumisipsip ng lumbay ng pag-iisa ng pangungulila Dumilat ako at nakita na sanlibong nanghihinang linta ang nagkalat sa sahig ang nakasawsaw sa lapot ng luha ng panaghoy ng pakikiusap Nasupil ako ng biglaang ragasa ng sanlibong awa....

by Paolo Miguel Ceralde Arquero Ramdam ang lamig ng sahig Ng likod kong hubad “Bakit ako?” ang pagsamo ko sa sinuman Habang ang luha’y patuloy ang Pagpatak        Patak              Patak  Mga kautusa’y walang nilabag, Bawat patnubay ay dinunog, Ngunit sa huli’y sa...

by Ronalyn Villa Pilones My words Seem frail In light of The world’s heavy burden My deeds Seem small As I stay Confined inside my home The world Seems wide Too far from The space where I can move The world Seems complex From where I Stand alone in empty...

by Charlton Jules Romero Can you hear me? Just unmute your mic… Can you see me? Enable your video cam… People with their elegant tops With pretense of virtual backdrops Shorts and pajamas rule below Off cam…dark…sinful and bloodied. In these shadowy corners People remain forever muted Never to be...

by Niobe Verena Moran Vidal These days, I only dream of things I know. I didn’t before. Because what else is dreamland but an escape from the tangible? And what else are dreamers but professional runaways?   These days though, I dream of hands. I dream of warm hands.  ...

by Charlemagne Revollido Dumaya Muntik na ‘kong matapunan ng mainit na kape. Sa sobrang antok, sinubukan kong uminom nang may nakaharang na piraso ng plastik sa mukha ko. Napalingon ako sa paligid habang nagpupunas ng face shield. Sana walang nakakita. Parang ordinaryong gabi lang sa paligid. Sa ilalim ng matalim...

by Rosa Maria Juan-Bautista   Greedy and hungry, you took more and more and more lives, now exceeding a global million, When will you stop? Loved ones, heroes, mothers, frontliners, suddenly, steadfastly, mercilessly, treacherously. The one person I love flew out of my life like a dove; our breath you...

by Charlton Jules Romero DU30: “FU SOB GD” EJK DOA PNP DOJ NBI UNCHR WPS PRC PCA UNCLOS DFA VFA ICC ICJ COVID-19 WHO DOH IATF PGH ECQ GCQ MECQ MGCQ RNA RT-PCR HCQ N95 70% PUI PPE LGU MMDA FB IG YT LI TW DM PM IM RT ICT...

by Paolo Miguel Ceralde Arquero “Iiwanan na kita.” Iyan ang kanyang huling mga salita bago gumuho ang aking mundo. Biglaan ang lahat. Ang sigaw ko, “Akala ko habang-buhay mo akong mamahalin? Bakit parang bigla ka atang bumitaw?” Walang pagpapaliwanag—walang ni-ho, ni-ha. Lumakad siya palayo nang parang wala lang ang walong...

by Gabriel Paolo M. Aquino Day 4 I did groceries today. I usually don’t do it halfway through the month, but the news had people panicking, and I felt like I needed to do so, too––even just a little. The grocery was the most crowded I have ever seen it....

by Nicolette Sioson Malferrari Focus. There is beauty in learning the difference between the trivial and the consequential. Focus on to the latter.

by Charlemagne Revollido Dumaya The green line treads through black and white And I wish it was a line of grass Treading through the concrete cracks On my way back to school. The blue line envelopes the words And I wish it was the cloudless sky Enveloping me as I...

by Mark Joseph Zomel Arisgado Ilang araw na bang di tayo nagkita sa ating tagpua’t humimpil, gumala, habang minamalas ang pamamaalam, pagpapalit-kulay sa hapon ng araw? May dahon pa kaya ang punong mayabong? O nalagas na ba’t nagtampong malaon? Ngayon, tumatakas muli ang liwanag at nananatili tayong mga bitag ng...

by Kristina Tianzon Azanes It was around this time last year when I lined up outside the UP School of Economics building along with the rest of the UP Law hopefuls as our temperatures were checked before taking the Law Aptitude Exam. Little did we know that one week later,...

by Benro Francisco Pabia Balaoing “this infinite curve licked by chromatic flames in labyrinths of reflections This gong of polished hyperaesthesia shrills with brass as the aggressive light strikes its significance” – “Brancusi’s Golden Bird” by Mina Loy though it sounds like an illness, it is a far cry from...

by Gaia Michelle Faigal Benjamin The smell of feces stuck to Fel’s fingers. She doused her hands in soap and alcohol, yet the putrid odor clung to her nails like nail polish. Fel knew she was overreacting. The smell was long gone, but the sulfur-stench and slime texture festered in...

by Marie Danielle Angela Magbanua Dela Cruz Humanity’s greed knows no bounds indeed, We will always find another reason to bleed, One might think that we have learned, Yet what can people do but burn? The year 2020 will forever be, An unforgettable year for you and me, It is...

by Mary Regine Dadole The Dictionary of the Year Under the entry for “future” we have added strange meanings: the past returning, the continuance of that which has happened but is not happening, because today the calm is the storm and the calm is deadly, which is why— Under the...

by Shella May Baluyot Landayan May it please the Court: I plead injury, but not from breach or tort— The issues herein raised from graves, Find transcendental import in this outrage— Now—as you suspend the fall of the gavel, Profusely, the crimson rivers swell. Remember, please, the ghosts of yesteryears:...

by Ma. Shazka Vistan Salvador Dear You, It is my first day back in the city and man, I forgot how heavy the traffic is here. I surely did not miss that. And I did not miss crowds. You can’t imagine the number of people in the mall today, They...

by Vince Alvic Alexis Flores Nonato Prescription is the enemy of perfection. Not everyone is capable of competence in a snap. But, most of us have no choice but to wallow in mediocrity, as we are forced to give something, anything. It is past 11 in the evening, and I...

by Bella Zenaida Torres Desamito For just a trickle of moment Comes the reminiscences of yesterday Oozing with exuberant joy Brings you back the past years…. remember? Twenty fifth is a day to remember On that cool yet special month of December You told me you love me with a...

by Johann Franz Ganancial Yngson Presented to us these undisputed facts: This tiny white brick, alone can never act. But when it was picked With freedom and intent No one can contend The motion has commenced. To look for more bricks With intellect as guide Constituting motive Of what is...

by Faith Nicole Uy Cariaga “Do you believe in the unity of knowledge?” asks our Legal Theory Professor, “that there is an objective truth?” It must be the heat or if I were honest, my short attention span, that allowed me to zone out and think of that question. I...

by Alayza Campos Azis Every growth, every progress Reversed and set aside Was it 2016 or since the beginning when was it reversed and set aside Honesty, honor, integrity Reversed and set aside Lies, baseness, corruption Reverse and set aside We live day by day But there is death in...

by Gerald John Cabanilla Guillermo alam mo may pangarap ako, pangarap kong magkaroon ng mundong walang abogado, sabihin mang baliw ako o tila ba’y sinto-sinto, ngunit ito ang totoo; teka ipaliliwanag ko. bakit nga ba pinapangarap ko ang mundong walang abogado? eh sila nga itong tumutulong, nagpapaunawa para hindi ka...

by Roilan Rigil Kent A. Alonzo There is a melancholy that seeps through our daily navigation of an otherwise online world. When before, there was an oft dreaded journey from home to school, littered with sweat, tears, and fear—and capped off with an eternal relief at the end of the...

by Froilyn D. Pagatayan Coffee, please. Clean, cook, check on kids Brew, pour, drink- doorbell! Quarantine pass and ayuda, then mobile market Coffee is cold. Clean, cook, check on- “Mom, got disconnected!” Turn hotspot on, check router, call network Coffee can wait. Clean! Cook! No time to check on kids!...

by Rosa Maria Juan-Bautista It’s more than a year of Covid19 and I am grateful that I am still alive. I felt so sad that I could not even attend the wake of my friends, relatives or classmates and be with them in their final moments on earth. Senior citizens...

by Angelie Daus Maningas The sound of my name felt like a splash of cold water. My face went numb, a thousand needles pierced my cheeks, and my lips are stitched into an ugly curve.   As I force the words out of my mouth, I feel the thread run...

by Trishia Gail G. Fernandez Before you map out the exception; to the exception; to the exception; Remember– there are over a hundred shades of black: Midnight, charcoal, ebony, coal, the shade of the ink staining the tips of your fingers the color of the night when the lights start...

by Iñaquil Angelo Mangahas Suppose they’re right, I’m indeed a sea dung, Trying and failing not to sink. Over months flapping swiftly, busting my lung, Plying to rise to at least the trench’s brink. This struggle to buoy, though, to whom do we offer? Hell, the ocean accords us no...

by Selina Irene Ocampo Ablaza “You remember too much, my mother said to me recently. Why hold onto all that? And I said, Where can I put it down?” – Anne Carson, “The Glass Essay”   I. My cousin was supposed to get married last Saturday. After a year of...

by Psalmir Feliciano Barrios Binusalan ang sarili para manatiling humihinga Dumaing kung ‘hanggang kailan kaya?’ Hindi matatapos aking pagsagupa Hindi ako handang kamayan ang pagkalupig Ilang daang libong inabandonang kaluluwa Umaawit mula sa hawlang guniguni Karamay sa aking paghikbi Pagtapos mangilala ng latay sa kanilang mata Nilulon ang pinaghalong dugo,...

by Louise Aubrey Patrocinio Mejia there is an endless sea of chaos there is a chasm, an abyss a distance that grows more distant with every lung-ripped breath do not look into the abyss! that is not the point direct your gaze beyond the infinite darkness direct your gaze to...

by Jio Santino Forbes Deslate There is no glory is liminal spaces. Only arrogance, big enough to fill it. There stood Amorsolo’s first draft, A woman in the midst of creation. Bone-white canvass, sea foam reclaiming Its primordial enclave. Engine Dressed before it is ready. I presume The artists had...

by Niegel Fanio Simon 04/12/2020 To the Lucky Recipient: Hello, shalom, aloha. I am a 23-year old tiny human living in a metropolitan city somewhere in the Pacific. I hope this letter finds you well. Today we celebrate Easter. (Now, you may not believe in religion – and to be...

by Kim Lee G. Chua Anxious. As I’m writing this, the second semester for the academic year 2020-2021 is only a week away. The anxiousness I feel isn’t like being like a deer caught in headlights as your professor gives you a look of dismay when you didn’t read the...

by Tubal Tuod Kahapon. Isang hinga, isang gapang Isang kisapmata Malapit na, malapit na! Daluyong ng pag-asa Init ng katiwasayan Tila yakap na ang kinabukasang Puno ng kalahatan. At walang hanggang posibilidad. Maaliwalas. Malapit na, malapit na. Diplomang inaasam. Matibay na kakapitan! Kasiyahan. Kagalakan. Katiyakan. Katiyakan. Kahapon. Ngayon. Sa bintana,...

by Juancho Mozo Agoncillo Mistulang kahapon lamang nang magbago ang lahat; nagsara ang mga opisina, naubos ang mga sasakyan sa lansangan, nawala ang mga tao’t tila napalayo ang mga miyembro ng pamilya sa isa’t isa. Nagbago ang daloy ng buhay; bumagal para sa karamihan, nawalan ng direksyon, at kulang na...

by Angelica Abon, Bea Lopez Four years of law school, I aged ten years. Add another ten years, I acquired on my fifth year. For four years we were trained, To always look for precedents. On our fifth year — We became the precedents. For four years our hands bled...