Hay(na)ku Experimentation

Hay(na)ku Experimentation

by Plaridel Batatan, Jr.

Hay(na)ku is a form of modern poetry created by Filipino poet Eileen Tabios in 2003. Traditional hay(na)ku poems are tercet (3 lines) poems, consisting of 6 words (1 in the first line, 2 in the second, and 3 in the third).

Frown, Smile

Frown

Upside down

You are smiling

- - -

Shoe Run Run

Wear your shoes

Just keep

Running

- - -

Pen & Paper

Written

Expressions, phrases

All is written

Paper

Pen, pencil

Or any utensil

- - -

Breakfast

Coffee

Hot water

And sugar cubes

A little creamer

And stir

Coffee

- - -

Deadlines

Adhere to time

And work

Non-stop

Always

Working non-stop

Death by deadlines

- - -

A Glorious Untold

I know stories

That sing

Colors

Colors

Like notes

On a staff

Like a choir

Of angels

Singing

Melodies

Inexpressibly beautiful

Uplifting broken souls

They are stories

That breathe

Inspire

Lives

Are changed

New chances given

They are told

From the

Heart

Why Should I Be Afraid?

Why Should I Be Afraid?
by Plaridel Batatan, Jr. 

I've spun a million tales
Of regrets and mistakes
They're not the tales I want to tell

I've sung a million songs
Of aches and breaks
They're not songs I'd like to sing

I've written a million letters
Of disappointments and failures
They're not letters I want to send

But then upon my brow, upon my heavy temple
A lingering thought, like a dancing whistle
Disrupts my daily sulking

Why should I be afraid?
Why should I hide?
Why should I whimper away?

If I confess in my bitter letters
The sweetness you bring in my life
Why should I be afraid to let you know?
 Is not the world shrouded with too much hate?

If I confess thru weeping songs
The joy and delight you bring to my mind
Why should I be afraid to let you hear them?
Is not the silence of the world today overwhelming?

If I confess while I spin twisted tales
The way you bring me to the straight and narrow
Why should I be afraid to let you see how I've changed?
Is not the indifference and constant conformity in the world tiresome?

Then again, I should be afraid

I should be afraid, because you don't know
I should be afraid, because you won't know
I should be afraid, because you'll never know

I am afraid because I can't let you know
I can't let you know because I'm afraid