First Taste

I've spent most of the night reading thru the things posted in the yahoogroup. I was checking out on what other quasi-poets like me thought about my daughter Melinda. Mostly good reviews. There was one though who commented on how there were no clear connections between the stanzas. Like how the father's hand wasn't connected to eating tuyo or that Melinda took her clothes off and got wet under the rain. I just replied saying how in life things aren't always connected yet we are forced to deal with these things. When we make choices, it's either we swallow or spit. There was another comment on how the word tinik sounded "collegiala," and how ampalaya was bitter gourd. I replied and said how when Filipinos go to the market, we don't ask manang, "Pabili po ng bitter gourd" or "Meron ba kayong crown daisy?" We simply say, "Amplaya magkano?"

Tinik may sound collegiala-ish, but using "fish bones" makes it too elitist, methinks. And the goal of the poem is to evoke the plight of the Filipino people in general, not just your everyday bout with child molestation, but with the Philippines' struggle with stronger countries. We experience the same amount of exploitation.

So there ... I got my first taste of poetic deconstruction outside the realm of friends. How do I find it?


I find that it ruins the whole essence of poetry when you scrutinize something so much. Was it that I disliked the critique and entered into a defensive mode? Or am I merely hard on myself?

Whatever. I'll continue posting. One member wanted mo to comment on other works. That'll be cool.