Renato N. Mascardo, 3 january 2021
at the next reunion
(for jh bacaling)
at the next reunion
when and where ever such
will be/ shall we claret and
champagne with panache
with abandon at the rave
or shall we be deliberate
at the next reunion
quaffing corona the lager
not the bug to such a precogitated
state of divine tipsiness
that we labialize vowels
gutturize sibilants all with a grin
at the next reunion
while we confabulate shared yesterdays
inebriated tonights hungover tomorrows
so we wait for the fete to come
with bated breath and bateless patience
when we can drink our mugs of corona
the lager not the bug undaunted unmasked
at the next reunion
but if
non compos mentis
sets in before then
all bets are off//
renato
saturday 2 january 2021
Renato N. Mascardo, 2 january 2021
sensory
two pupils rotate
behind their lids
the two dilate
behind their shutters vainly
in the dark
two nostrils expand
inhaling the aroma
of her neck
the nose tip digs into the musk
in the dark
the pliant tongue slides
across and lingers
on each of her moistened lips
its tip basking in her yielding firmness
in the dark
the pupils finally
no longer stray
remain still at last
content in their imaginings
in the dark//
renato
friday 1 january 2021
Renato N. Mascardo, 1 january 2021
stewpot of memories
(for gene baňez)
like pipe
smoke embedded
in my father’s jacket
your tuitive musing of med
school days
wells in
me the scents and
flavors of the past we
all shared/ the anamnesis of
affairs
long gone/
the piquant and
the bitter we choose to
ignore/ savoring instead the
haut-gout
of past
dalliances
of faded friendships of
minionings that persist through time
that have
become
sweeter and sharp
the umami in the
stewpot of memories/ and
now in
this fagged
transactional
age of truthiness and
quid pro quo you may ask/ the price
that we
owe her
the exchange that
is really fair between
her and us/ the tuition-fee that
we paid
against
all that we got
are getting and will get
back from her plus memories so
priceless//
renato
thursday 31 december 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 24 december 2020
nativity in the year of corona
no joy
in this age of
the desolate yet there
is comfort in the isolate
of two//
renato
25 december 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 21 december 2020
passers
in time
many become
few friendships' circle shrinks
diametered and circumferenced
by strife
boredom
and loss until
fellowships in the end
join solitude in reluctance
as one//
renato
sunday 20 december 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 15 september 2020
belle de jour
the blue
sky touches the
water that covers and
uncovers the sand because of
the wind
it is
a beautiful
day to fly a kite a
glorious morn to build castles in
the sand
the sheer
joy of being
on the beach in childhood
on this perfect day makes the day
endless//
renato
sunday 13 september 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 27 august 2020
this space between
nothing
in life is set
instead of finding that
all we feel is digital we
have to
make do
with sentiments
that are more analog
though we try to grip things around
us in
feelings
deemed binary
alas neither zero
nor one do they turn out to be
for when
life deals
us its blows we
end up uncertain like
Schrödinger's cat neither living
nor dead
as we
wait for what the
morrow brings let us dote
on this space between total grief
and joy//
renato
thursday 27 august 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 17 july 2020
equation
from one
moment to the
next is always a new
equation two sides split by an
equal
symbol
a nullity
resulting from a loss
on one side balanced by a gain
on the
other
the way to be
content in the midst of
losing is trying to find what
is gained//
renato
thursday 16 july 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 24 june 2020
in praise of humor
so Job
was put to the
test this just and blameless
man disaster struck not once not
twice but
countless
times he lost
his wealth loved ones friends and
wealth yet he persevered and he
endured
his faith
unbending in
the midst of his sadness
and despair he battled on day
after
day a
serious man of
virtues of fortitude
gratitude fidelity and
patience
for want
of humor a
risible virtue the
holy man sank into deep
despair
armed with
humor he could
have grasped the absurd
in the morass of affliction
and said
“my body sores are many and really bad
but if yours are worse then you are dead”
renato
wednesday 24 june 2020
Renato N. Mascardo, 18 june 2020
if you were a virtue
to be
simple is not
to be a simpleton
simplicity is just being
a grace
simplest
among virtues
it is light lucid clear
a part of all other major
virtues
encased
in occams blade
buried deep in genes and
epigenes it needs nurture to
be learned
unlike
the virtue of
generosity that
is dynamic it is one of
repose
opposed
to the vice of
duplicity it is
natural unselfconscious free
of the
lapse of
self absorption
a virtue of the intellect
of the
moral
of the spirit
to be simple is to
be devoid of complexity
it is
a state
of quiet ease
in just being without
pretense or dissimulation
nothing
else but
being simple
a virtue of
ease that is so exacting to
attain
i ask
if you were a
virtue what will you be
i say you are simplicity
my friend//
renato
wednesday 17 june 2020
(to Will Liao)
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