Lakan Uhay Alegre

The Social Semiotics of Our Sensibility: A Filipino Workshop Method Adapted by the 1st Cebu Writers

Freshly cooked rice partnered with scrambled eggs and utan Bisaya was the first meal I had upon arriving at Ocean View, Oslob. I took a quick nap from my long and tiring travel. My plane landed in Cebu at midnight.  I arrived at the 7 Eleven rendezvous place around 5 A.M. Then I took the bus ride with the fellows and panelists to Oslob. At the back of my mind were the backlogs I had in school and the video I needed to film for a class project. Tiring was an understatement but it was all worth it.

Raphy, a friend from UP Mindanao and a fellow, was giving me a life update over brunch, how things were back in Davao, what news was there of the literary scene down south. There were knick-knacks at the table beside the buffet of main courses. I left my emptied plate with Raphy and fancied myself with coffee. When I got back to my seat, the plates and utensils were dished out by our panelists.

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Urban Jungle

Concrete trees mount this jungle
the home of the corporate hoarders and lunchless laborers.
Sunlight veils its walls, producing shadows 
to shade the windowless homes.
Traffic symphony signals the roofless residents 
to wake-up, to look for a new cardboard sleeping bag
and to scout another cave for slumber.
Elite apes live in concrete treehouses
while peasant roaches creep the cemented ground.
Both live harmoniously
with freshly picked out supermarket fruits
and recycled meat as nourishment.
Garbage fertilizes the jungle streets
and nurtures the strong with bacteria.
Every night, bullet rain blesses this jungle
to purify it from weeds, and blood splatters
the walls, painting a geographical
map of metropolitan mass murders.