Poetry::: The Witch in Fairy Tales

The Witch in Fairy Tales

Jona Branzuela Bering





























My eyes, you said, two-lipped scissors almost
Kissing each other. With a nose, a hawk’s beaks.
A chin, a blind curve. My mouth spit thorns, vines,
And not rose petals and melodies.

Your prince dashed with his sword, or words,
Partly, an Andersen’s prince. Exactly the one
You expected to rescue you from my dirty fingers,
Full of stains from everyday works—making potions,

Spells not just for you but for myself too. To make me
Live up with my character. For your story to continue.
For you to be rescued. For you to have a happily-
ever-after. For you to be loved by everybody.

Since without me, you’ll not be Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty.
You’ll be just another ordinary girl, a secondary character
In a story book, gathering dust in a remote corner
of a bookstore, silent, and then, bargained, and yet in the end,

unsold.

Balak::: Ang Balay sa Mangkukulit

Giputos sa iyang panan-aw
ang babayeng gahipos
sa iyang buhok gamit
ang plastik sa ice water.
Iyang gitiltil ang nagbansiwag
nga kapungot sa babayeng
kalkag og buhok
ug hibos nga kaugalingon.
Gilimpyohan sa tigib
ang kadakurbada sa imahe
gikan sa ilong padung
sa may aping, sa nipis
nga ngabil nga nagtago
og daghang sugilanon.
Gikuot sa kutsilyong talinis
ang ningsiwil sa ilawom
sa dunggan hangtod
madungog ang kahiubos
sa iyang mga mata.
Sa gamayng batang giporma
iyang gilingi ang babayeng
naglingkod morag estatuwa
kuyog ni Sto. Niño ug Buddha.