My photo
ALBERT B. CASUGA, a Philippine-born writer, lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where he continues to write poetry, fiction, and criticism after his retirement from teaching and serving as an elected member of his region's school board. He was nominated to the Mississauga Arts Council Literary Awards in 2007. A graduate of the Royal and Pontifical University of St. Thomas (now University of Santo Tomas, Manila. Literature and English, magna cum laude), he taught English and Literature (Criticism, Theory, and Creative Writing) at the Philippines' De La Salle University and San Beda College. He has authored books of poetry, short stories, literary theory and criticism. He has won awards for his works in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Philippines. His latest work, A Theory of Echoes and Other Poems was published February 2009 by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. His fiction and poetry were published by online literary journals Asia Writes and Coastal Poems recently. He was a Fellow at the 1972 Silliman University Writers Workshop, Philippines. As a journalist, he worked with the United Press International and wrote an art column for the defunct Philippines Herald.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

LA NOCHE DE LAS ALMAS

 
 
 
LA NOCHE DE LAS ALMAS*

 
Chloe had an angel costume, and Louis was disguised as a hamburger, and Marie stayed home doing what she does best: act as the runt and eating all the goodies with camouflaged diapers being her costume. --- Halloween Night


She was dressed like an angel.
She did not have to, and could
have gone trick or treating in
her pink pyjamas, sleep marks
all wrinkled up on her gentle
face, like the blanket creases
tightly wound over her head
to rid the night of bogeymen.


Last year, he was Chewbacca,
why not a hamburger this time?
I said, any which way you go,
my boy, they will see your face,
and leave their Halloween
doors swearing they’ve seen
a King Burger angel wagging,
lettuce and bacon sagging,
cooing rather tremulously:

Trick or Treat, give me
something good to eat!

Roaming the cul-de-sac, my
cherubic tandem would have
looked too good to anyone, but
they’d have to eat their hearts out.

No, the littlest one will watch them
from the windowpane even as she
eats the trick-or-treat chocolates
all by her ghostly self, dressed like
as the baby she is, diapers and all.
 
She cannot threaten trick or treats,
she can only cry havoc should her
mummy take the loot away!


--- Albert B. Casuga



*All Souls Night

No comments: