Buntong-hininga at Tawa

Share: one is a poem from Love Gathers All (2002) and the other, from an e-mail i received a couple of years ago. pasenti at patawa lang :)


The Kiss by Fran Ng

When she let go, pulled away just slightly, she was afraid
to look at his eyes. What if they mocked her? What if they
said nothing at all? What if they said too much?

Their lips found each other's lips again. Little by little, they
slipped their lives into the kiss. The boy left his fears
unattended as he worried about shushing hers. Her lips
peeled away his secrets, his demons and angel selves. Her
lips coaxed his to turn to water, flooding and buoying her.

Did the saints rejoice when they finally kissed? Did their
chests burst with the flurry of recognition? Did forget-me-
nots bloom under their feet?

Perhaps the stars mourned the boy as they mourned the
girl. Or perhaps they blessed the boy as they blessed the
girl. It no longer mattered what the stars cried, becuase all
that mattered was this kiss.

Moonlight? Firelight? Dusk? Dawn? Rainy afternoon?
Stolen afternoon? Serendipitous evening? Some unbidden
locale, like a pedestrian intersection, lost in honking horns
and blaring street signs? Or a secluded terrace? By a
windowsill of blooms? Who knows how long or short it
lasted? Which fears the kiss did wash away?

One day, he came to her and kissed her. One day, their lips
spoke without saying a word. The kiss taught their tongues
to dance. In the kiss they blew every question like a kite
drifting away. In the kiss the no became a yes, the perhaps
became right now, the could-have-been became forever. In
the moment of the kiss at least, everything was there.
Including the desire to seek his lips, her lips, push and
press, get lost and found -- these were all there.

One day, they kissed and parted. Whether for a moment or
forever depends on what sparked it. If the kiss had a
deadline to fulfill; an empty dream to bid goodbye; a young
summer to grace; a light-footed dance to consummate; or a
tear to wipe away -- we would know if the kiss eaves-
dropped more than it revealed. We would know how to
calculate that moment -- to expound on its brevity --
unlike the boy and the girl, who had that kiss.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The Hunt for the White Rabbit

Nagkaroon ng exam ang agencies ng USA para malaman kung sino sa mga agencies ang magaling mag-execute ng man-hunt. Ang mga participants ay:

NYPD = New York Police Department, USA
FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA
CIA = Central Intelligence Agency, USA
PNP = Philippine National Police, Philippines (Special International Guest Participant)

Isang puting rabbit ang papakawalan sa isang gubat. Each agency will be given three (3) months to find the rabbit. Unang grupong contestant, NYPD. Pumasok sa gubat ang kanilang search and rescue squad, S.W.A.T., at pinalibutan ng mga police ang buong gubat. Ipinasok rin nila sa gubat ang kanilang detectives, at experts sa paghahanap ng nawawala.

After 3 months, lumabas ang NYPD sa gubat. Nag-release sila ng press statement, "After 3 months of intensive search for the white rabbit, we regret to inform you that because the rabbit had a head start, it was able to elude our units, and was able to pass through our dragnet. The rabbit has escaped."

Next ang FBI. Pumasok rin sa gubat mga FBI, dala dala ang mga helicopters, mga sniffing dogs, at sari-saring experts para hanapin ang rabbit. After 3 months, lumabas ang FBI sa gubat. Nag release rin sila ng press statement, "After 3 months of finding the white rabbit, we had some interesting leads. However, as we were closing in on its location, somebody must have tipped it off, and it was able to elude us by disguising as a deer. The rabbit has escaped."

Next ang CIA. Pumasok ang CIA, at dahil meron silang special powers to request assistance from the US Military, dinala na rin nila ang US Army para tulungan sila sa paghanap. After 3 months of firefight, bombing, and special operations, lumabas ang CIA sa gubat. Sabi nila sa press statement, "We used everything at our disposal. We didn't leave any stone unturned. We bombed everything in sight. I'm sure, you will not find any rabbit there anymore. He's probably scattered all around the forest in tiny little pieces!"

Last, but not least, the PNP. Napatawa ang ibang agencies dahil ang pumasok lang sa gubat na PNP ay lima lang. Pero laking gulat na lang nila dahil next day mismo, lumabas ang PNP, dala dala ay isang grizzly bear, na naka-posas, bugbog sarado ang mukha, halos sarado ang isang mata dahil sa bugbog, duguan, at sumisigaw,

"OO NA! OO NA!!! AKO ANG WHITE RABBIT!!! AKO ANG WHITE RABBIT!!!"