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Poetry by Karlo Antonio David | July 18th, 2010
Pakopyahin mo na nga ako
- Matuto ka nang makisama -
Sige na, huling beses na ‘to
Lahat na nga ay nasa iyo
‘di mo pa kayang magparaya
- pakopyahin mo na nga ako!
Syet kasi ‘tong teacher nating ‘to
Wala namang silbi ‘tong quiz niya-
(Sige lang, huling beses na ‘to…)
Sige ka, at kasalanan mo
Kung hindi ako makapasa!
Pakopyahin mo na nga ako!
Believe me, ‘tol, kahit ayoko
Requirement na pati kumopya
(-kaya nga huling beses na ‘to…
(…Amin pa kaya ‘tong buhay na ‘to?
Basta, tapos na ‘to mamaya…)
- Pakopyahin mo na nga ako
talagang huling beses na ‘to.
—-
Karlo Antonio David is a 3rd Year AB English student of Ateneo de Davao University.
Creative Nonfiction by Christian Cabagnot, Karlo Antonio David | March 21st, 2010
(Remembering The Lost Sultan’s Mansion)
The Mansion in Kidapawan designed and built by Sultan Omar Kiram II, locally known as the Kiram Building, was a testimony to the life and artistic merit of a great man of history. With its distinct Roman-Torogan design, it was arguably Kidapawan’s greatest link to its Mindanawon roots. Yet its destruction, and the Kidapaweño’s indifference to it, painfully reveals how unconcerned the people are for their heritage.
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Review by Karlo Antonio David | January 31st, 2010
Aaron Jalalon’s play “Red Wine for Teddy” is an excellent work of literature because of its demonstration of refreshing humour, its ability to ironically reveal Philippine realities and its nature as a work that is uniquely Filipino. It is both entertaining and profound, a helpful tool in bringing the masses back into the path of intellectualism they have for a long time strayed from.
The play, which consists of just one scene, is about four meat vendors: the eponymous Teodor, Lydia, her daughter Ji-ji and Ardong. It is revealed in the four’s dialogue that Gary, an American who was a patron of Teodor, had been found murdered in a dump site. The four express the possibility that theft was the motive for the murder, and, in a light hearted sequence of dialogue, they fondly lament his death.
The play’s strongest aspect is its humour. It seems superficial, but on closer reading, it reveals the attitudes of its characters.
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Poetry by Karlo Antonio David | November 1st, 2009
When you die I will bury you
I will have trees murdered
And have their corpses mutilated
To make a casket for yours
That is all
When you die I will bury you
I and our relatives
will be busy
Preparing your wake
Serving your guests
with coffee and biscuits
Presiding the bingo
Spitting out the prayers
That is all
When you die I will bury you
I will weep a tear
Say a good word
Express regret
And express sorrow
That is all
When you die I will bury you
That is all
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Poetry by Karlo Antonio David | August 2nd, 2009
Because someone has finally come
I open the door
after keeping it closed for so long.
The carpet is unrolled,
the chimes are hung,
the perfume sprayed –
all to welcome the visitor
at the door.
As she draws nearer
and nearer
my heart races
but then, without warning
she turns her back
her back she turns.
I close the door again.
Had I not left it ajar
I would not have seen
her coming
at all.
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Poetry by Karlo Antonio David | July 19th, 2009
Based on the epic Magindala: Mutya ng Daraanwan by Don Pagusara
Hihiga-higa
Sa may dalampasigan ng lawa
Mga huni ng ibon sa puno
Nakaaantok, Nakasasawa
Sa katahimikan ng umaga
Tataghoy ang plawta
Aawit ang Mutya
At magsisimula ang eksena
Ang mundo’y kinulayan ng puti at pula
Kaya’t eto ako, nakalawit ang dila
Mga tuhod nakapiko, mga paa nakabukaka
Sa pagganap sa papel, eto, handa na
Ayun siya, anak ni Kuhila
At eto ako, ang papel ay manguha
Ng puri, ng isda, pati ng kaluluwa
Eto ako, laruan ng tadhana
Ang mundo’y kinulayan ng puti at pula
At ako’y nilugar sa pangal’wa
Kaya’t eto ako, isang kontrabida
Demonyong likha ni Don Pagusara
Tingala, yuko, kanan, kaliwa
Dungaw, hiyaw, ilawit ang dila
Isalubong ang kilay, palakihin ang mata
Ipakita sa mundo ang ‘yong pagnanasa
Kubli, hiyaw, isabay mo sa plawta
Ayan na, dibdib, sa mundo’y ipakita!
Lumapit, lumapit, mukha’y pagnanasa
Hila! Harap! Ika’y manggahasa!
Wala na. wala
Laro ni Bathala
Pati pagsikat ng araw minani-obra
Si Magindala’y puti, ako ay pula
Siya magwawagi, ako’y mapipinsala
Eto ako, nilikha ni Magbibaya
Upang puksahin ng Daranawang dakila
Laruan lamang ng maawaing Bathala
Kakataying tupa sa paghuni ng Plawta
Fiction by Karlo Antonio David | April 26th, 2009
If my malicious stares had been able to do him some damage, he would have fallen a long time ago…
That wall has stood there for as long as I could remember. I don’t know why, but the other people do not seem to be even remotely bothered by his presence. I, on the other hand, am driven to what one might surmise as insanity by that accursed structure of brick.
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