Live Poem

In posting this intellectual property in my infamous blog, I neither have the proper permission nor the blessing of the author, publisher and copyright owner. My act, conscious and intelligent, self-serving however noble, may be felonious. Let me, instead, advertise the source of this work: One Hundred Love Poems: Philippine Love Poetry Since 1905 published by the University of the Philippine Press (2004). This is the mitigating circumstance of my crime.

Live Poem
By Anna Bernaldo

"Love is always a choice," my mother always says,
But this time her spatula did not point
Pragmatically in my direction.
It stirred silence on the boiling broth,
Ripples matching the excited rhythm
Of the TV sports anchor's voice
In a basketball game my father is watching.

Now that I'm older, I'm forced to reconsider
You and my fixation on the Addams couple
As our role models forever.
One always hungry for the other.

I never listened to my mother,
But everyday I see her.
And I'm older and love must be domestic,
Responsible, sensible as a haircut in summer.

Is it possible for us to make something more
Out of what we are about to have?
Of course, you do not know.
Even I do not know.
Why did I even begin asking questions?
I just wanted to write you a love poem
But I can only live one for you.