Post by thepoetslizard on Oct 10, 2008 15:58:00 GMT 2
Mary Grace T. Betsayda is a graduate student based in Toronto, Ontario. Originally from Quezon City, Philippines, she immigrated to Canada a little over a year after her birth.
Currently, she is writing her thesis on the church's role in the
socialization of Filipinos in the Greater Toronto Area, in the field
of Immigration and Settlement Studies at Ryerson University.
She graduated from the University of Toronto with an Hons. B.A.,
specializing in English and minoring and Sociology. She has just begun further studies toward a degree in education at York University. She enjoys teaching and has spent the past summer as a master instructor's assistant in tae kwon do when not working, writing or exploring the city on foot.
"Temporized Itinerant"
Even though she scrubs and scrubs
She cannot remove the dirt that makes its way
Into the cracks of her heels
Soles dyed navy blue, black from the flip flops she wears everyday
She does quite a bit of walking
Late to bed, early to rise
She's out of the house before you and I
Eager to get on with her day, you'd think
Instead she's just escaping
She's here, there, everywhere
Got to go to work, the gym, the extra-curricular
The co-op, the friend's house, her mom and dad's,
The church, the steeple, where are the people?
And finally she comes "home".
But is it really home?
Is home a place that we shower, sleep and grab our daily snacks?
And take about 1,000 breaths?
And off to work again?
Or is home the place we spend our time, lots of our time, MOST OF OUR TIME?
We'll if that's home, her spread is much more vast!
In transit, in trees, with birds, crunched leaves,
Under her feet as she walks.
*
"aubade en parliament"
when i woke up in the morning, head tucked into your neck like a ball
and socket joint
i moved my nose around to feel your skin, not quite stubbly but
definitely not a 12 year olds
it was a nice feeling to be your woman
i kept checking the time
to see how many minutes i could keep you there
in my arms, by my side, on his couch
and although we were in borrowed space
where the lights weren't as bright as we would have liked
where the pets that kept us company were on loan
where the birds outside sang to strangers within
for that morning, for the night before
we made that room our own
we made that place our own
our intimacies stowed away in the cracks that no one claims
begrudgingly but honestly, our secrets came out
the night we had our "grade six romance"
*
"A Swimming Pool Moment"
The moon, red like a blood grapefruit, was to blame
For tonight's silly shame
Of two friends who tried
The other side of the friend divide
JUst for a moment, he thought he'd try
To use the moon as alibi
And take her to "another level"
With that, she decided, "What the hell?"
And too experimented, taking course
Which didn't go too far, DIVORCE!
Only for a short time they became
Friends to lovers then back again
It was bittersweet to say the least
Love's a strange and forceful beast!
But back from the depths of that awkward place
Too quick to say there they took up space!
"It's over, I'm glad, it wasn't as fun,
As what I thought so...you're not the One!"
And with two big sighs of relief
Sat the friends without any grief
They laughed and wished each other well
And this tale, they'll never tell.
"My lips are sealed, I'll remain mum,
I won't ever speak and Wait for the sun!"
Too bad this night came to pass
Yet two friends remain, so raise a glass!
Experiments needed to be done
Shoot off your feelings with a loaded gun
Check to see if she'll reply
Worth a shot, worth a try!
"It was not the best I must say
So don't try again another day!"
Leave it alone, to the vault it goes
Hide away those mental throes
So this is how some love chose
To show itself then gave up, froze
Goodnight friends, come to a close
The swimming pool moment's evidence shows.
Dip your feet and take a step
In the water, see how its kept
If you are comfortable, "Jump in"
If not don't force yourself to sin
If you do, no one will win
