Children of Two Seasons

Lara Saguisag, Hubert B. Fucio

• Publisher: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• ISBN:
  9789712729164
• Topic: Literatura
• Subtopic: Poesía

A collection of heartwarming and humorous poetry for and about children, filled with Filipino word play, everyday Filipino happenings, and unquestionable Filipino values subtly but expertly woven into delightful and memorable lines.

Two Seasons

First, dry.

The thick heat is everywhere

beating down from the sun

rising from the asphalt

blowing in as slow, heavy wafts.

Everything is baked.

Then, wet.

The sky turns dreary, gray

with clouds. Typhoons bluster in

dumping weeks of rain.

Sometimes the brown puddles rise

and seep into our houses.

Everything is drenched.

But children are always out

soaked in summer sweat

or dancing in monsoon rain.

They play.

They laugh.

They bloom.

By the Canal

Imbo says

I’m going to catch the most tadpoles today

and I say

Maybe not

and he says

I always do

and he walks along the edge

of the canal, swinging

his empty can.

I say

You have the bigger can

and he says

So what

and I whisper

Cheat

I lean over the brown water

and see how dark my face is.

The tadpoles sense me

and scatter, a tiny

black outburst.

Mama is hanging clothes

behind our house

She shouts

Are you kids by the canal

and I yell

No

and she shouts

So dirty there

and Imbo yells

We’re being careful

He lies down, belly on ground.

I stretch out beside him.

We watch the tadpoles,

madly swimming.

A bubuli scuttles by

the water’s edge, its scales

catching light, its claws green

and sharp on the soil.

The sun presses

warmly on the back

of my neck. I could...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• 1
• 2
• 3