020426
ancient mariner
Tondo, Manila
Paco, Manila
of those who know, will know
the port of Wakō
the place of a daimyo
the present trade of the seasoned yakuza
for the port of Manila
is like the port of Yokohama
calm waters and sunrise
open and welcoming
to different beings
such as illegal enterprise
where the best criminals hid
where the traffickers are slid
through the pipeline where the eye is naked
but invisible in the teeth of the law
have you ever wondered about Jessica?
when the US call out entertaining guest
somewhere in Kabukicho?
in Tondo, Manila
in Paco, Manila
in Ermita, Manila
is an ancient history
of those who know
will know
but these days it's in Makati
where the scheme is Ponzi
invest here, come on, you silly
it is not to deceive
except lies such as these
always looked sincere
or they truly believe
the reason you'll never see
right through them
strike the pot
while it's hot
you'll never know
if you're the next hotshot
jackpot, baby
the cat that waves for luck
is calling onto fat opportunities
here, in the Southern seas
but enough about danger
just to shake the judgmental, sheltered,
duplicitous, superiority complex sufferer,
snobbish
eugenics laden
pure by bloodline
Japanese bourgeoisie
who don't want to be associated
with such scandalous figures
except his ancestors
might have visited these places
for a handsome price
so that this banal bourgeoisie
is now a hundred percent Yamato genes
and clean
perfectly well-off
to wash his hands with disdained dismissiveness
and lack of interest
calling it unfashionable, unpopular
with a tone laced with cold indifference
labeling them poor and the land of slums
like an exhibit of a bandwagon elitist
he probably inherited somewhere
suited as an infantile
more ignorant than a cow
let's talk about those who actually lived this place
and knew both Yokohama and the Manila seas so well
who knew about the tale of the kamikaze and the giant tsunami
just as about they mastered the tempest tide of the tropical Pacific
first are the men,
men of Manila who plays macho
men of Manila who are well-known sailors
the seasoned yakuza knows what Tondo, Manila smells
and how Ermita, Manila is filled with whores
again, where do you think he got the trafficked supply of Jessica?
to become a dancer with an entertainment visa?
those who didn't know will never tell
why so? they never bothered
but the seasoned yakuza walk both in Tokyo and Manila with ease
his feet trod with footprint of calm
knowing every comfort of his turf
doesn't matter if places switched
either North or South
both directions are his home
so his life always slows down
about those who moved in Makati
you can also call it a luxury of sexpat community
I'm joking
except these people are free
for a spree in Pasay, Manila
and gamble it away at Okada
you know it's too far away in Las Vegas, Nevada
as all of these are also forbidden in Osaka
or everywhere in the corners of Honshu
if they wanted a land they marry a Filipina
whether she's Pina-chan or a Maria
does it matter?
like the Chinese who are more rooted
they tried to copy the ways
so they can bear some fruit of their labor
like the million yen invested equivalent to cheap
by Tokyo price
whether Jessica, Pina-chan, Filipina or Maria is a risk included
it doesn't matter, if you love her you don't background check
if she had a history of romance scamming
or an association to an extortion gang
it's your loss, not theirs
why?
you never go out and meet the locals anyway
who knew if other locals have something else to say
but consider the good tidings,
consider the better days,
like a komorebi aesthetic
if you ever found it
suppose you meet Maria who is a forever virgin
who grew up with controlling
strict parents
Maria the virgin is like Yamato Nadeshiko
except more religious
than Catholicism itself
she has a conservative family
who goes to church every Sunday
once you’re part of the party
show up every gathering
it's mandatory
you meet her relatives
and understand the routine
when her aunt remarked
how Maria the virgin gained weight
how Maria the virgin's appearance is this
is that
Auntie's opinion unsolicited
Auntie's opinion you don't butt in
since Auntie's pride is higher than Mount Everest
maybe your best take
is to assure the already timid Maria
since you involve yourself
in the passive-agressive field
of the prim and proper bourgeoisie
Filipino family dynamic
your closest when it comes to equal footing
who knew if you met Maria the virgin abroad
since most of her other relatives moved away already
maybe in US, maybe in Germany
who cares
your problem is in the Philippines
suppose you marry for land and pragmatic purposes
not the old-fashioned remittances
you don't need free hippie love
you only wanted earnest partnership
and you meet a humble Filipina
who is probably a hardworker, a farmer or a gardener
well, good luck is on you
if you've invested millions
you purchased a hundred hectar
somewhere in the mountains
of the underdeveloped town
of Davao, Mindanao
whether for agriculture
whether for leisure
ask the Chinese descent on how to manage
who knows if they knew
since they came earlier
and later dominate the economy
of this country
since, you know, this is a conservative society
the native Filipinos dominate through political dynasty
don't bother, you're not included
the bloodline is mixed with only a Spanish, an American, an ancient Chinese or some other European lineage
that harks back pre-colonial and colonial history
just as much Japan wanted to be associated with Germany
and America,
you know,
Meiji and black ships history
it's not rocket science, really
an apple doesn't fall far from the tree
land is a precious dispute
a critical issue among family
because under land are rich resources
you'll never know
you can never guess
in a country with a conservative fiscal and constitutional policy
what about Pina-chan?
go to my previous poetry
I bid you my best wishes
since men of Manila are chivalrous machos
who can be a womanizer and a drunkard of San Miguel beer
there are many men who navigate ships and take a stop in Brazil
and Brazilian women preferred the Filipino seamen better
I have no idea
but I've read enough news and rumor
Filipino men are good
that's all
so for the veteran of both of these two countries
it only needs adaptation
since I'm no migrant but an empty chair wonderer
I always think how my tropical people
adapted winter
my brain thinking stops there
I cannot imagine how do they live in winter
that's all
I wish I can talk about these macho men
who wear tattoos in their arm like fashion
but I've interacted with them all my life
that any amor I had is nothing new
they act like Latino
but they're not Latino
they may drink those San Miguel beer
but a single call from family
they forget all the macho and amor propio
I roll my eyes everytime I catch myself talking about them
ugh. men.
they stink.
they smell like cigarettes.
if not cigarettes, then with bloodshot eyes
who will never be sober
by the time they started drinking
from morning ‘til night
they loiter and sit on the frontyard all day
a beer in hand if not with cards of poker to play
loud, boisterous assholes
who sings in Pinoy-style karaoke
heard by all neighbors
with off-key, and off-pitch voices
they pour their passion to rock songs
like Bon Jovi’s It's My Life over and over
but if you need help,
best believe they're the first to rescue
the first respondent to emergency
as their reflexes are lightning quick
when it sprang in action
just by being a human CCTV
per canto
if you ever earned their regard
these men are probably in good terms with the seasoned yakuza
the most elusive, the high-profile Tokyo criminal
because he's being covered
to be friends with these men
he knew them well
somewhere in Tondo, Manila
he was never shot dead under the protection of these drunkards
men of Manila who knew better about the pier and the eskinita
and the old world of Ermita
if among the most rooted of them all is the seasoned yakuza,
he crouched and watches every crook of the cityscape in Manila
bored and unbothered
he walks inside his apartment
in flip-flops, in trunk shorts, and thin Uniqlo shirt
he walks outside
catches the daily rhythm of life
then knocks at the sari-sari store of the nearby neighborhood
to buy a cigarette
and like every local he releases
smoke in the air
in perfect nonchalance
and like every Filipino men
he smoke like a factory exhaust fume
practice of the former Spanish tobacco exporter
both men and women
puffing out like it’s nothing
when vice comes out of their mouth
both when talking and breathing out
as for the more youthful happy go lucky
rooted by a decade
or at least,
this is where they were raised
your best indication is their faces
when these children of expat community in Makati
can joke around and giggle with candor
they don't hide it, they can laugh vivaciously
the children of these expats has no restraint
when it comes to freedom of expression
in every interaction, in every motion
it's the locally familiar beat and gait
their humor is also canal
by canal, it means sewage in Philippine English
crude Pinoy humor
you know they passed being a local
if they can catch the wavelength of it
like a Kansai knows a fellow Kansai just by a crude joke
and both Kansai can laugh a bit before saying hello
here, to make it Filipino style
and make you more cheerful
(apart from the different affairs that occured in the previous chapters)
why the Philippines is a place where people go on vacation
is not only the beaches
not only the English language
way back the early days
there are ancient mariners in all station
people of status
from top to bottom they have arrived at the shore of Manila
and those who stay, will say, humanity
warmth and hospitality
and an intricate community
not far from home
yet new enough to try
in a sunny place and thrive
cliché and all that
but let's say you thrust yourself onto the hope of it
but the people whom you placed your trust
and well-being
are not what they truly seem
you were extorted with money
you’ve been cheated on
then unfortunately assassinated
or when on arrival
you understand what a developing country truly is
awful traffic
intense red tape
and public service
which are incompetent
typhoon and flood going out of control
because of corrupt politicians
those rose tinted glasses are gone
you want to go back to Japan
best advice?
I think you should
the Philippines is not for the weak gut
those who can't drink the purified local drink
unless they suffer diarrhea are meant to return back
have you ever tried balut?
how about dinuguan?
frozen cubes of pig's blood
yes
Filipinos eat an embryo of a duck
yes
Filipinos chew a pig's blood as a snack
those who can only permanently settle
are those desperate enough
they become resourceful
it takes grit and endurance to be resilient
it also takes a lot of frugality and tenacity
like the soldiers who were left out after the war
they learn to eat wild berries
deep into the jungle of this island
yet they survived
how do you think the seasoned yakuza lived?
by matters of a street smart kid
not a hygienic sheltered baby
here's the gist,
like the ancient mariners
they read the tide
they sense the air’s direction
follows the current
in different language,
you learn how the locals speak
for just like trade of the pirates
I’m sure they gained some skills
of those who settled,
they didn't lose their dignity
they did not sell entirely their identity
but made spaces of their own
as it used to be
when they are warmly welcomed
there's a place intended for them
but for tourism, I know this country is expensive
not that I'm interested to go island hopping
like a popular influencer who barely scratched the surface
but goes on making vague assumptions in good will
bland if I paid a subscription
whether it's organic or by artifice
how do you navigate a foreign land?
ask the wisdom
of the ancient mariners
who read the clouds carefully
for any changes in weather
a weather of the tropical island
seated between the hotter Pacific
the ancient mariners knew
I wonder why the majority of these snobbish bourgeoisie don't?
is the Philippines only just an Asian banana republic?
come on, go ask your ancestors
they have a lot of accounts
that's why the pattern keeps persisting
rather than insisting
of the mainstream
mouthpiece convention
that can be quite shallow
