A Stream Of Haikus

Creeping fearsome ghost
Lurking within the tall grass
Run! My heart tells me)

A real cool cat
Stares smugly at us all
Quick claws struck a mouse

Past the reeds she goes
Daffodils bowed in her wake
Ripples in a placid lake

Gossamer snares
Delicate but treacherous
Fatal quiver felt

Butterfly flutters
With cathedral wings afire
Glances flutter by

Tweet goes the Pipit
Buzzing each shrub and flower
Withered petal fall

Nothing here but death
Desolation and despair
Hot sands burn my cheeks

Reach out in prayer
Cry out for a bit of rain
Dry throats utter thanks

Come to my dryness
Leave the cold and wet behind
Hang your love to dry

Upon a cold tarn
Nature muses its reflection
A splash echoes on


Dare disturb the calm
Skim that pebble on the pond
Fish scatter beneath

Nothing here but death
Desolation and despair
Arms reach out for rain

Reach out in prayer
Cry out for a bit of rain
Dry throat utter thanks

Looks peaceful today
Yet malevolent clouds hover
Hurry home my love

A frightful warning
Of impending wet and cold
Hands allay my fears

Lord, divide your sky
Give me the colorful part
I shall want no more

The mountain wind blows
Whispered wisdom, uttered truths
Here's where I will camp

Lonely sentinel
Faithful to a sworn duty
Ease your arms awhile

Blinding, shimmering
Whiteness of blustery snow
Come hither with care

Raindrops and teardrops
Sear my cheeks and my heart
Oh woeful adieus

Midst shouts and slams
My beloved despot rages
The clock ticks and tocks

Cold heart's hollowness
Echoes dirges of past loves
Spring thaw is nigh

I saw her today,
Aloof but with a smile
Friday I’ll be back

There you are li’l girl
Swathed in a field of yellow
Bees told me you’re here

Sun sets on Jasmine
Scented twilight stirs my soul
Where has my love gone?

Amidst the rubble
Wasted ruins of the fall
New life emerges

Memories are streams
Of glorious days, sad failures
A beaver dam breaks

Struggling to hold on
Wiry roots cling tight to life
Woodsman hold that axe

Help! Superman Help!

(a doggerel)

Where have all the heroes gone?
Heroes to boast of we may have none

With his shiny kris Lapulapu struck with ease
Magellan’s head flew above the mangrove trees

Henceforth spiny fish was named after him for good
While Magellan became an exclusive neighborhood

Most of our heroes lost their fights
Without reaching glorious heights

Gregorio’s Tirad is a poor copy of Thermopylae
Wretched devil killed by rats with silver dollar pay

Samson pushed columns, caused a temple to fall
Bernardo Carpio mere crags…a mountain wall

Darna zoomed our skies with a tousled mane
Wonder Woman on first class in her invisible plane

Vhong Navarro’s Lastikman stretched arms snapped
Plastic Man’s rubbery limbs had evil men trapped

Oh, for a hero to get us through the political morass
Man of steel, moral, honest and not an ass

We have lionized several in the past and how
We bent over in a subservient kempeitai bow

Malakas at Maganda was a promising pair
Until conjugal corruption filled the air

FPJ stopped the bad guys with fast draw forty five
Wrestling GDPs and GNPs would he come out alive?

Another ersatz hero still wanting a comeback
Asking for a chance to give the till one more whack

Can Super Gloria fight off villains of evil deed
Or the beloved marauder’s immoderate greed?

Is our land a place where real heroes cannot thrive?
We’ve been manufacturing false heroes at an overdrive


The hero mill’s output is at a dismal low
All that have been produced had a flaw

Self styled heroes in Senate and Congress eager to get going
Natural wealth and country’s coffers are for the taking

Alas poor Juan’s wish for a hero may never come
*“Alis na baka pati karsonsilyo mo’y makamkam”

*(They may even get your underpants, so go on the lam)