Pounding The Keyboard

       The last time I got out with my bicycle, a folding bike, was 21 st of March this year, a few days before Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), which was the strictest type of lockdown, was reimposed in Metro Manila because of the spike in COVID-19 infections.We went to Intramuros and SM MOA that day as per our weekend routine. After that, my bike just gathered dust in one corner of our house.      But this morning, the weather was good, meaning, the clouds covered the sun, tempting me to go out, so I obliged, wiped the dust off my bike, took it out, and pedaled around, suddenly getting curious if there was a community pantry in our neighborhood—I didn’t see one.      Community pantry, of course, is the best thing that happened in the country in the past few weeks. Imagine, the poorest of the poor not worrying on where they would get their next meal, not being afraid that they would sleep hungry. It showed the innate kindness among many Filipinos.      But last night, in

       So I stumble on this article about a woman putting up his dog, a Chihuahua named Prancer , for adoption. So why is she giving the dog away? Firstly, she describes the dog as demonic and neurotic who is hateful and violently aggressive towards people, including children, and other animals. Prancer’s positive side: he’s a bit nice to women so the owner wants only women to adopt the vicious dog. If you’re a married woman, you are advised to divorce first your husband before you take Prancer home. And once you get on Prancer’s good side, he’d be fiercely loyal to you, the owner said.      Prancer the Chihuahua reminds me of Relic, an askal I used to own many years ago. A cousin found him abandoned inside a cemetery and took it home and later handed to me as he knew that I loved dogs.   I named the filthy and flea-ridden and with golden brown hair puppy Relic because, well, he was found inside a cemetery, beside an open, vacant tomb, and relic is defined as something that belo

  I want to live, I want to give I've been a miner for a heart of gold It's these expressions I never give That keep me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old …        So you approached a vendor selling taho …      YOU: “Manong, how much is the taho ?”      MANONG: “Ten pesos. The bigger cup, twenty.”      YOU: “I only have three pesos… but I’m really hungry… can I buy your taho for three pesos?”     MANONG: “No problem, I will just give you this taho in the bigger cup for free so you can eat."      YOU: “Oh, Manong, you’re so kind.”      Manong handed you a cup of taho which you slowly ate, as you really didn’t like taho and weren’t sure if it was hygienic.      Then, you put out your expensive camera and started videoing him, intending to scatter it all over social media, not even asking him if he valued his privacy or not, or if he wanted to see his face plastered all over socmed, you were thinking that the man was poor, uned

  It’s like every day, from the moment you wake up   There’s haze floating inside your brain Fog that thickens as the hours go by Days sometimes pass by like a blur Sometimes, excruciatingly slow Like every second feels like an hour You look out your window And a breeze that smells of death and disease Caresses your face You go out of your house to try to walk And calm your heartbeat down But you hear footsteps behind you You look back only to see Oizys In her flowing black gown, following you You soon realize that the only escape from it is to shut your brain and sleep again Chase pretty dreams So you go back home and desperately climb up your bed But then, sleep, like the many gloomy days before Comes to you like a tired, two-century-old tortoise As everyone wants a piece of Hypnos He knows not who to console A god ever so elusive

      Amidst the news about the tension regarding the standoff in West Philippine Sea and of rising COVID-19 cases and hapless sick people struggling to find a hospital that would admit them on my Facebook News Feed, I stumbled upon this peculiar news about a male biker—he, who was in full cycling outfit and with his mountain bike parked nearby, was videotaped receiving fellatio from a homeless woman in the street, with only a few posts (unsuccessfully) covering them. Such audacity—and libido. Jeez. It wasn’t mentioned in the news if the act was consensual or if he coerced the vagabond lady but the cyclist was arrested and was charged with rape.       Such a versatile biker. Whenever I am out biking, I could only think of pedaling, the joy of riding a bike and my safety. I could pass by Scarlett Johansson sunbathing on her terrace wearing a two-piece bikini, looking at me with desirous eyes and I would probably just throw her a quick glance and continue cycling. Lol. But this biker,

       “To love another person is to see the face of God.”                                             Victor Hugo, Les Miserables        These are perilous times for writers...      Last week, I was trying to write a story so I could again join the weekly short-story writing contest of reedsyprompts. The prompt I chose was “ write about a mischievous pixie or trickster god,” which would have been my second entry for the weekly contest. (My first one, which I submitted months ago, lost.) I failed to write the story as I continued to suffer from a monumental (creative) writer's block. And what kind of writer would be inspired these days, when the COVID-19 cases continued to rise—more than 10K a day, the peak hitting 15K, and all its dire consequences? A first cousin of mine (a regular drinking buddy; really close to us, like a brother) was among those infected, though he only was experiencing mild symptoms, which was a recurring slight fever, a silver lining.      Now,