Luckless nights

6:00 PM BLUE THOUGHTS

this will be the last night

before streetlights dim

 altogether failing to catch

zoning jeepneys going south

before

tired tricycle drivers

waiting

by the corner alley

retire

this will be the last night

before highways empty of cars

and night skies fill

 with stars

 

 

EVE   

6:00 pm, Dapitan Street, is a gamble

the putrid smell of urine,

human waste stuck

in the crevices, in the outsole

of my shoes.

Furious at the sight

of broken streetlights

and tangled cable wires

 like coiled snakes

I stand,

waiting by the stoplight

for the passing cars

to come to a sudden

halt-

green light.

 

 

HOMEBOUND

there is something

 about walking alone

along dim alleys bathed by the rain

when wind catches

a cool chill

and all is quiet

 save the soft purring

of a drenched cat.

 

11:00 PM

my rain dotted window

blurs the lonely neon lights

and I, safely tucked

inside the concaves of a taxi cab

rides home dry

from the glistening rain listening

to soft murmurs in rhythm

with rain drops licking

 the window pane

 a melodic tune

a sad rendition

 for tired people going home.

 

SKYSCRAPERS

Faint silhouettes etched on a canvas of stars

make it hard to see outlines of giants

etched in city soils

Magnificent, sharp

Greedy for attention-skyscrapers pluck

the stars at night time

and wrap

them around their bodice

outshining Sirius

 in brilliance.