Justine Camacho Tajonera

Justine Camacho Tajonera Poems

I think of the whiteness of snow
on a postcard from an immigrant aunt.
How sweet, how pure
and unreal like props
...

How far are these 'higher things'
from what I feel for you?
The earthly, humble touch
of your hand,
...

The man I asked for directions did not know how
to explain it to me
but he smiled, took my hand
and showed me the way.
...

It is impossible to fall in love again
for the first time.
The first blush, the heart quickening,
racing madly with a secret:
...

The pond is
quiet
except for
the birds.
...

I experience
the leaf,
the deadness
of it,
...

There are few luxuries
in life
as precious
as afternoon naps.
...

Twelve and a half
years later
she packs away
books, certificates,
...

I watch the sunlight
bounce off the water
running from my morning
shower
...

I had a dream last night
about being pulled
by the waves,
clawing into the water
...

The evening is soft
with revelations,
with ears open
to all manner of
...

At kung magkikita tayo
balang araw
sasabihin mong
ako’y taksil
...

They say millions of people
pass through this
shopping mall.
I feel lost in a sea
...

Before we leave
Quezon,
we have a meal
of grilled tilapia and shrimps
...

Today was humid,
full of cares,
two parties to attend,
maneuvering the whole
...

16.

This gift costs nothing.
It is a rainy afternoon,
racing down a
giant slide,
...

A laborer's work
is simple
and clear.
I sift the sand
...

We are there for only
two hours
and yet
it is a flashback
...

I have met Rome both as beggar
on the street
and king on the throne,
as old man fumbling with words
...

The sound you make
is fainter than the sound
of rain softly falling outside
our windows.
...

Justine Camacho Tajonera Biography

Justine Tajonera is happily married and, together with her husband, Vier, is raising their two year old son, Badger. She is a writer and poet by vocation, an editor by profession and has had a 13 year career in telecommunications: 4 years in internal communications and 9 years in marketing. She loves sharing her knowledge and insights on marriage, parenthood, pregnancy, breastfeeding, poetry, travel, career and work-life balance. She lives in Quezon City, Philippines. Her poetry has been published locally in anthologies and she maintains a blog where she publishes a poem every day, Claiming Alexandria. Justine's Books: Poetry Gift Novel Artemis Lets Go)

The Best Poem Of Justine Camacho Tajonera

A Filipino Writer Of English Poems To A Filipino Writer Of Spanish Poems

I think of the whiteness of snow
on a postcard from an immigrant aunt.
How sweet, how pure
and unreal like props
in a high-school play.
The closest I have seen of it is
crushed ice on halo-halo.
Why do I end up speaking
of white things?
I feel blond -
bleached and painted over.
But this is how I speak:
misted over with a foreign flavor
but in essence a native blend
of brown and yellow.
I think of how you must have
shivered in the European snow,
words warm in your heart.
I wonder if you dreamt
in Spanish.
Perhaps we dreamt
the same dream,
our incandescent souls
glowing beneath
the translucent veils
of tongues-to-suit-our-needs.
We were born in a land
of two seasons, not four,
unused to and awed by
words like:
autumn, winter, spring.
I think of snow and
how it melts into a
gray-tinged slush,
how these words of ours
will melt with the heat
of what we really mean.
But I think we wear
our costumes well.
If it is cold
we have to put
our coats on
but it will always be
with our skins
that we feel.

1996

Justine Camacho Tajonera Comments

sweet tulabing 19 January 2019

wala yamu dre.hahaha

0 0 Reply
Mayazhagu Guhan 12 March 2007

Every thing is nice

1 3 Reply

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