Jim Pascual Agustin's Blog, page 32

Versions Old, Revised,…Final?

 

In January 2011 my two books were born: Baha-bahagdang Karupukan and Alien to Any Skin. I was elated to have those two books published (both by UST Publishing House) for it had been a long gap since the last collection (Salimbayan, 1994). Soon after I wrote the first draft of the following poem. This one eventually joined a new set of poems that would become Sound Before Water (UST Publishing House, 2013), a much slimmer volume than the previous two which contain poetry from over 15 years. In a forthcoming review of this new collection this poem gets mentioned for the oddity of its title. I am posting this version – the one that is now in the book, as if being in book form makes it final! – perhaps as an invitation to adopt my paper children and make room for them in a new home.

It pains me not to be in the same country where these paper children are born. All I can do from where I am is tell as many people online how much I wish and hope the best for them. I will post a link to the review once it is available. For now, I share this with you.

 

How to Sell a Child Door to Door

for Karu and Skin, my paper children

tell them this child has no parent

and can only bring joy

to its new home

bring light and promise

into the room

as it silently sits

in their hands

even as the world burns

outside the window

tell them everything

they want to hear

that might make them smile

anything just to get

this child’s little foot

in the door

do not bat an eyelid

should the child

gasp at fragments

of moth wings

by the kettle

no one invites sorrow

into their lives

-o-

Filed under: Africa, Alien to Any Skin, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Butterfly Moments, Creatures, environment, Fragments and Moments, Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran, Life in a different world, Literary News & Articles, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Sound Before Water, Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Jim Pascual Agustin, Philippines, poetry, Sound Before Water, South Africa, UST Publishing House

Desmond Tutu Responds to US Attempts to Curb Freedom of Speech

Statement by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on US Efforts to Curb Freedom of Speech

I am writing today to express grave concern about a wave of legislative measures in the United States aimed at punishing and intimidating those who speak their conscience and challenge the human rights violations endured by the Palestinian people. In legislatures in Maryland, New York, Illinois, Florida, and even the United States Congress, bills have been proposed that would either bar funding to academic associations or seek to malign those who have taken a stand against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

These legislative efforts are in response to a growing international initiative, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, of which I have long been a supporter. The BDS movement emanates from a call for justice put out by the Palestinian people themselves. It is a Palestinian-led, international nonviolent movement that seeks to force the Israeli government to comply with international law in respect to its treatment of the Palestinian people.

I have supported this movement because it exerts pressure without violence on the State of Israel to create lasting peace for the citizens of Israel and Palestine, peace which most citizens crave. I have witnessed the systematic violence against and humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces. Their humiliation and pain is all too familiar to us South Africans.

In South Africa, we could not have achieved our democracy without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. My conscience compels me to stand with the Palestinians as they seek to use the same tactics of non-violence to further their efforts to end the oppression associated with the Israeli occupation.

The legislations being proposed in the United States would have made participation in a movement like the one that ended Apartheid in South Africa extremely difficult.

I am also deeply troubled by the rhetoric associated with the promulgation of these bills which I understand, in the instance of Maryland, included testimony comparing the boycott to the actions of the Nazis in Germany. The Nazi Holocaust which resulted in the extermination of millions of Jews is a crime of monstrous proportions. To imply that it is in any way comparable to a nonviolent initiative diminishes the horrific nature of that genocidal and tragic era in our world history.

Whether used in South Africa, the US South, or India, boycotts have resulted in a transformative change that not only brought freedom and justice to the victims but also peace and reconciliation for the oppressors. I strongly oppose any piece of legislation meant to punish or deter individuals from pursuing this transformative aspiration. And I remain forever hopeful that, like the nonviolent efforts that have preceded it, the BDS movement will ultimately become a catalyst for honest peace and reconciliation for all our brothers and sisters, both Palestinian and Israeli, in the Holy Land.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

 

-o-

Please help us spread this.

Filed under: Africa, Fragments and Moments, Influences, Middle East Tagged: Desmond Tutu, human rights, Israel, Palestine, violation of human rights

The nicest words

My poem has little chance of winning in a popularity contest, but when you get readers who say something like this, then I feel the poem has already won. Thank you, Murray.

-o-

End of life; beginning of life. I went for the beginning, ‘Glimpses’, not because I think beginnings are better, but because the shock of birth and the fragility of the neonate were so delicately handled. Handled, that is, with an economy of words not in the other poems. Second vote would have gone to ‘That long quiet’. Those two poems stand head and shoulders above the rest, and I say that, whatever the outcome of the popular vote.

-Murray

Goodreads.com

-o-

Filed under: Fragments and Moments, Mga Tula / Poetry, poetry, Uncategorized Tagged: Glimpses, Goodreads.com, Jim Pascual Agustin

My poem, “Glimpses,” a finalist at Goodreads.com

I was never the popular kid. At least my poems get noticed. Then again, after the judges have selected, this one becomes a popularity contest. Oh well… :) Care to vote for this one?

Poll

GOODREADS MARCH NEWSLETTER TOP FINALISTS’ POEMS — PLEASE SELECT ONE!

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS MONTH’S FINALISTS

* Voting is anonymous and choices are listed randomly.

Thanks, as always, to our judges, Meg Harris, Dan Simmons and Ruth Bavetta for selecting six finalists from this month’s group!

That Long Quiet –Sally Zakariya

Glimpses –Jim Pascual Agustin

Year of the Black Water Dragon –Rose Mary Boehm

even the stars have anemia –Maya Stein

KHUDA HAFIZ –Ella Wagemakers

MEMORIAL DAY –Dan Butterfass


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Filed under: Literary News & Articles, poetry, Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Goodreads.com, Jim Pascual Agustin, Sound Before Water

NEW ANTHOLOGY OUT!

I meant to post this bit of news a while back.

VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA: a Storm of Filipino Poets has been released! One of my poems which first appeared in Sound Before Water is included in this fantastic anthology. Copies may be ordered at Lulu.com and soon via other online retailers.

Filed under: environment, Literary News & Articles, poetry, Sound Before Water, Uncategorized Tagged: Jim Pascual Agustin, Verses Typhoon Yolanda

Dear Shelley

The following post may be upsetting. I hope it is.

I found a photo off Facebook with the following text:

-o-

In this photo, a female trophy hunter sits smirking on top of the giraffe she blasted to death with a rifle as it ate from a tree.

With these kinds of “hunts,” wealthy individuals are usually driven to the spot by guides who know where the animals are. The clients then shoot and kill the animals, often while sitting in the Land Rover that brought them.

Even more unconscionable, some safaris are “canned hunts,” in which captive animals raised this purpose, are placed inside a fenced-in enclosure for the “hunter” to shoot.

***********

Here’s the hunting company’s description of this event:

“We took Shelley out this morning with the thoughts of maybe getting a giraffe. We found this big bull feeding in the trees, and Shelley put 2 good shots in him before he went down. Big mature bull. We have it all here, and we want to share it with YOU”.

If you’d like to share your thoughts with the company that runs these “hunts” for a select and wealthy clientele (other clients include Ted Nugent and family) you can reach them via their website here: http://www.allhunts.com/Limpopo_Dangerous_Game.php

Photo credit – facebook.com https://www.facebook.com/KoeshallsWorldHuntingAdventuresAndTaxidermyLlc/photos_stream

-o-

Here is the photo:

In response to the sadness evident in Shelley’s eyes, I wrote to her:

-o-

Dear Shelley, I forgive you. You must have been very hungry and cold. Please send me all the photos your admiring friends will take as you take huge bites of that animal. I would like to know if you enjoyed every piece of it, including its tail and ass. Please could you also tell us who your friends are. There are more animals in need of being shot by your kind. Will you also teach them the correct way of firing a gun? The tiny hole where the bullet flies out of should be pointed at each shooter’s head. Teamwork and perfect choreography is needed. God loves you.

-o-

Then I thought maybe I should find out if she has friends with the same tragic look. So I went to the website of the company that helped her deal with the sadness. And this is what I found:

Want to help them all? Please click the above photo and it should take you to the website of the company where you can express what you feel about the group hugs they managed to capture on camera. Some of them are even on video.

 

Filed under: Africa, Capitalism's greed, Creatures, environment, Influences Tagged: Animal Shame, Limpopo Dangerous Game, Shelley, World Hunting Adventures

To Remember

anti-war protest rally in London image from wikipedia

To remember is an attempt to piece together what can never be one again. The time, the place, the scent of flesh once beating. Today marks the invasion of Iraq. It seems the rest of the world has forgotten.

The following poems appear in my book Alien to Any Skin (UST Publishing House, 2011). Should I thank GW Bush for writing them?

Just This One

Art. 33. No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she

has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures

of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.

The Fourth Geneva Convention

When someone says “Think about the bigger picture,”

I hide. My life has the legs of an ant. I find the resilience

of pebbles more inviting. They smooth themselves on riverbeds,

current rushing over their backs, pushing them to cling

with other pebbles or grains of sand pounded to near nothingness.

There are so many of them, too many to count. Each one

has something the others do not possess. Perhaps the thinnest streak

of brown, the sligthest indentation, the faintest crack.

Even when they are broken they are never the same. Caress

the jagged edge of this one with your index finger. Just this one.

July 2008

-o-

The Day the Dead Tree Fell

years of fear

have come to this

roots unearthed

longer than the arms of men

pointing skyward

the drone

of foreign planes

a hollow in the ground

deep enough

for a coffin

the silence

of loaded guns

all those fine veins

where something

used to flow

November 2008 – August 2010

-o-

Questions

for the leader of invading forces

When you put your shoes on this morning,

do you remember which foot came first?

Does someone tell you when your collar gets stuck inside your shirt?

Do you let that person touch you?

What colours make your eyes stop searching?

Are those the ones you like or the ones you hate?

How many people have you met that had an extra finger

and wasn’t shy about it?

Have you ever held a firefly in your palms?

Was it warm? Were you alone?

When you close your eyes,

whose face lingers?

What was the first word you learned to write?

Did you use a pencil or a crayon or a borrowed pen?

If you had a dog, would you name it

after the person who blew up your house?

Is there something on my forehead

that only you can read?

Can you tell if someone is lying

or just scared?

Will my name be on a piece of paper?

Spelled correctly?

August 2008

-o-

Going Retro: The Victorious Army of Gobbledygooks Penetrates the City

“Why do they hate us? We’re setting them free!”

A foot soldier

They were expecting

sweaty hugs and kisses

from dark veiled women

and their adoring children.

Ears cocked, they anticipated the struggle

of the local band in playing

their beloved anthem,

as if it were not foreign.

But only hollow,

sporadic shouting of men

who gathered from nowhere

welcomed the forces.

The army was laden

with a quick,

calculated victory,

craving for popular jubilation.

Instead, this caricature of a show

put on by these nowhere men.

Stick figures in the desert sun,

sure of only one thing:

Tear down the giant statue

designed originally

by a previous generation

of gobbledygooks.

This show had been triangulated

for the world to see

moment by breathless moment

on their most trusted TV.

And then what? An awkward silence

as the statue grates to a stop,

refusing to crash down. A monologue broken

by coughing in the background, off camera.

Days later when the local population

finally came out with their voices raised,

the victorious gobbledygooks felt

strangely welcome, unable to decipher

Joy and ecstasy from utter hatred.

It is only now with proper translation

years later that we have

a clear understanding of gang rape.

December 2008

-o-

Filed under: Alien to Any Skin, Bush legacy, Capitalism's greed, Fragments and Moments, Imperialism, Mga Tula / Poetry, Middle East, North America, poetry, politics, Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, human rights, human rights violations, Imperialism, invasion of Iraq, Jim Pascual Agustin, murder, murder of civilians, President Bush, propaganda, shock and awe, UST Publishing House

Ukraine and the Holy Triumvirate

Ever since I read one of his books, William Blum has continued to astonish me. In his latest post he makes it possible to see clearly and simply what has been happening in Ukraine.

Read and wake up.

ANTI-EMPIRE REPORT #126

Filed under: Capitalism's greed, Imperialism, politics Tagged: IMF, Imperialism, NATO, Obama, politics, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, US, World Bank

Seven Poems at OUR OWN VOICE 42, March 2014

I never gave much thought about borders and national identities twenty years ago. It seemed pretty clear to me back then that where you were born defined who you are and how you viewed the rest of the world. It was a simple way of identifying who was “the enemy” and who was on your side. It was narrow-minded and simply wrong.

Now I see that the concept of nationality can and has been used by those in power to turn us into pawns against each other. It is no more than an idea that is easy to throw around because it is in our nature to recognize and accept more readily what is around us as the norm, and that what is outside of that limited experience is something to be wary of.

Yesterday I heard that dreaded word again in a news report: xenophobia. That discussion will have to wait another day. For now I would like to share some news.

I intend to share a number of poems over the course of this month (March 2014) as my way of celebrating the books that have been generously put out by various publishers through the years. Some days I may provide links to poetry published online and other days I will just post the poems here. I have my own personal reason for this. Maybe I’ll explain that at the end of the month.

The first installment comes out today. It is from an e-zine that features poetry from the “Filipino diaspora” – a concept which to me feels like a cousin of “nationality” to a certain extent. I am and I am not. The grains of sand between my toes do not have passports…

The poetry e-zine Our Own Voice has featured my work a second time. Four of the seven poems are from Sound Before Water, one (with an English translation) from Kalmot ng Pusa sa Tagiliran, and the last two are from manuscripts in progress. (NOTE: as of this writing there is a layout problem with the first poem, “Air from Another Moment,” which I hope could be fixed by the end of today.)

I encourage you to leave a comment on the e-zine’s website. Even to say how you hate my poems and why.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Alien to Any Skin, Baha-bahagdang Karupukan, Filipino poetry, Jim Pascual Agustin, Philippines, poetry, South Africa, UST Publishing House

Cover for VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA

Editor Eileen R. Tabios included one of my poems from Sound Before Water in the anthology VERSES TYPHOON YOLANDA. The anthology is for a worthy cause so I urge readers of poetry to consider supporting this effort.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Eileen R. Tabios, good cause, Haiyan, Humanitarian Aid, Jim Pascual Agustin, Philippines, relief efforts, Sound Before Water, Tacloban, Verses Typhoon Yolanda