Introduction
Nestor “Nono” Felix feeds his followers on Facebook with his poetry, in English and Bikol, about his distilled reflections on life and his quick comments about current social and economic issues and whatever else attracts his incisive and inquisitive mind. He is a recipient of the Philippines Graphic Salute Award, an honor bestowed by Philippines Graphic magazine for his significant contributions to poetry, particularly in the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, receiving it multiple times, including for 2023 and 2024, for his incisive poems reflecting life and current events, often published in Philippines Graphic. We feature here a collection of his recent poetry and a sampling of his works.
HYPNAGOGIC
I see a scarecrow
On the yellow moon
By the window
Of the third kind
Woman or man
I ought to know
I look to the left
It shifts to the right
Towards Venus
I look to the right
It pivots to the left
Away from Polaris
But the night
Out of the spotlight
Restarts daylight
(image: Aimee Cozza illustration)
HABAGAT
Swallows flutter on new power lines
As the windsong unwraps the sky
Yamashita’s gold in Mount Isarog
Lies agog in caves all night
The sun appears guilty of a night out
With supernovas in the Milky Way
Rain smudges the sky’s mascara
Cumulonimbus clouds march from San Miguel Bay
An army of giant red ants
Ogles an abandoned barracks
Cardava leaves wave
Still the sky sprays the dry earth
(photo: Birdo Pedia)
SASHAYING IN THE HEAVENS
Once the sun slips out of sight
The moon turns into a strobe light
As if on cue Venus and Polaris
Waltz Foxtrot Hustle Tango
Cha-cha Rumba Salsa Bachata
Across the Milky Way dancefloor
(photo: evening Mexican sky by Peakpx)
THE COMMUTER
The driver takes the cue
From the dispatcher
No more room for earthlings
The backseat reserved
For extraterrestrials
The trike maneuvers
Vaults toward the galaxies
I’m off to the Milky Way
The dreamer in me
Asleep in San Felipe
(photo: Premier News Ventures)
DOUBLE RIDE
Normal na ki Lola si Lolo nakapustura na amay pa
Majogging kaya sa Basilica paduman baklay sana
Walking distance man sana kaya an balay kan duwa
Bagting kan Cathedral dangog pa dawa bungoran na
Alagad pakaeleksyon nagkaigwang pagduda si Lola
Bukol an bulsa kan jogging pants ni Lolo nin barya
Alagad pagpuli dawa balisuso mayo lamang dara
An sabi sa talipapa si Lolo pakajogging najoyride pa
SURREY SOJOURNS
I feel a deep longing for my long walks along the Basingstoke
The postcard-textured hues the serenity of the scenery
The powdery surface of that enchanting Harry Potter pathway
The quaint Wheatsheaf Inn cradled by magical cottages
Copy-paste images from my grade school English textbooks
Never for one moment for the global workshops to reckon
The impact of the year-in-year-out development interventions
For and with the downtrodden along the Mekong and beyond
(photo: Basingstoke Canal by Toddle Doddle.com)
MY SWEETHEART
You're sweeter than sugar
For one not only lovelorn
But also insulin-shorn
Your heart beats magic
Turns syrups granules
And crystals in the universe
Sugar-free and antiseptic
(photo: cherry cake by Glorious Treats)
SUMMER
The Pacol headwinds are on furlough
Chilling out atop cool Malabsay Falls
Now and then hulking Buri palms stir
No match of course for the still dry air
New subdivisions roast on the foothills
Together with the spiced crust of earth
Yet on the table peppery Bicol Express
A feast at least for the noonday guests
(photo: Malabsay Falls in Panicuason, Naga, Wikimedia)
ZEROES AND ALL
(For Nanay)
She kept a secret
My zero in Arithmetic
As big as the yolk
In the fried egg
She often cooked for breakfast
She chuckled each time
I looked like Taras Bulba
After twilight trips
To the tumbledown barber shop
Tucked in a dark street corner
She had an angel smile
Welcoming me back
Each time I ran away
And flunked again
In the subject called Life
Even if I looked
As old as Noah
With an empty ark
(photo: boy with Taras Bulba haircut, Instagram)
A MERCIFUL BOWL
I spared the life of a small house spider
Marooned of all places in the toilet bowl
It could’ve evaporated with a single flush
But in my heart of hearts the arachnid
Must live in the real world of the web
I rescued it with a soft long-handled brush
Fished out of the malicious porcelain hub
It landed on the tiles alive agile and free
Then I wondered if it would pay it forward
(photo: spider in toilet bowl, Reddit)
CRABS SPEAK
When we're up we look down
When we're down we look up
But never at anyone in particular
Life’s trajectory is rise or fall
We mean well either way
But the storytellers say
We pull each other down not up
(photo: a coconut crab scaling a tree, Reddit)
TRIKE AT MIDNIGHT
Aboard this rolling contraption
Powered by the tubercole legs
Of an old fugitive from Tinangis
On this long and narrow road
Snaking through Wellville Homes
Illumined by the Mt Isarog moon
As usual in a hurry to get home
Before the spooky Barukikik shrieks
And the anemic driver falls asleep
(image capture from video by Anton V)
OFW ON FURLOUGH
Outside an old condo
Along a long river in Cairo
The evening star belly dances
In the peculiar night sky
Outside a new bungalow
On top of a hill in Ocampo
The morning star bedazzles
In the familiar night sky
(photo: The Pine Scented Chronicles)
UGOB
An bunga duwa
May garo batuta
May garo bomba
An garo batuta
Dawa atibangaw
Dai kursunada
An garo bomba
Dawa anong aldaw
Ginuguno ni Lola
An lasa pambihira
May gota o berdura
Sa Nilagang Baka
(image capture from video by Rosch Cooking & Lifestyle)
SURUPGON
An kurtina sa bintana
Kan kuwarto daing ontok
An palahos sa hadok
Kan doros an hinangos
Patos an lipot saka hamot
Kan sapa saka kadlagan
An bulan man kaya
Sinasabanan kadadalan
(photo: sapa sa kadlagan, Adobe Stock)
HERE ON THE FOOTHILLS
The morning sun on green grass
The afternoon rain on brown leaves
The romance between sweethearts
The sky and the mountain
The scent of heaven’s breath
The perfume of the earth
(photo: sunset in Paracale beach, JVDJ)
TINUMTUMAN
Pearls of shells from far upriver
Shoots of bamboo by the bend
Coconut milk as thick as rainclouds
Spices with the scent of the universe
Cooked in an earthen pot on a tripod
With firewood from the neighborhood
Served hot in bowls with blue ginger
With the taste of forgotten monsoons
While another storm hides the moon
(image capture from video by Chef Navasca)
The header image shows the Malabsay Falls, a 40-foot waterfall located in Panicuason, Naga City, on the slopes of Mt. Isarog. (credit: Trip Advisor)
About the author
NESTOR “NONO” FELIX is a septuagenarian who has gone through life as a parokyalista, Atenista, researcher, evaluator, development worker, poet, and writer. He lives with his wife, granddaughter, and pet dog in the Land of Pili and Sili.