..aww… well, some of you have already figured out that I was a bit sick this late having quite a hard time dealing with my SJS (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome) for the second time ‘round. SJS is a rare, serious disorder in which skin and mucous membranes react severely to a medication or infection causing the top layer of the skin to die and shed. There are no specific symptoms that can be associated to it but I got rashes & blisters on both legs and arms, and a few rashes on my back. And, nope – that is not the topic of our Poetics today, ok! …smiles…

Lately, while having a couple of treatments here and there I got myself busy reading books and taking pictures. I am currently an Instagram addict and I have one account there where I post all the photos I took which are mostly self-portrait and nature-inspired. Now, I know you all are wondering already about the title of our article today, ‘Asians are Ugly!’ – sounds discriminating and offensive right? Well, that was exactly the note I got when I posted a photo of me on my Instagram. Usually the quantity of likes I got from every post called my attention until this disgusting comment suddenly came out and made me feel a bit upset. He/she commented that ‘..asians are ugly!.. the ugliest in the world God ever made… and that we should all die and stop speaking English… coz we just mess up with it…’ I went over his/her page to check and got even more surprised to have seen that this guy/gal were also uploading and posting pictures of different young Asian girls and boys tagging them with nasty lines. I didn’t confront him/her although I got hurt and offended basically because I have an Asian blood, I live in Asia, I am from Philippines. I didn’t bother to send him/her any message simply because I am not the type of person who would waste his time confronting a ghost – yes, that person, whoever he/she is, was hiding under a false name and I could hardly trace any real identity of him/her so instead I blocked his/her account and reported it to the Instagram admin. I even encouraged my friends and followers to do the same thing for this ‘meany’ guy/gal in order to get him/her totally out of existence. Right now, the said account is already deleted since I can no longer search him/her but I know ‘haters are haters’ at the end of the day and this person will not stop and for sure he/she will find a way to create another dummy to spread his/her evil side. Last week, I got infos that another one or two of same deal is appearing again on the web but I didn’t bother to check anymore – ah, such a waste of time!

Just a thought, have you ever been discriminated? The issue of discrimination is no longer new to me and I feel so sorry for those who are lucky enough to have experienced such. But believe me it even hurts more when you are the one being discriminated already. Definitely my first time to experience such unschooled manner and it was both really shocking and funny that I even forgot I have SJS at the time… lol..

OK. Forgive me for bringing this issue up here at dVerse. I know I shouldn’t have to but I feel like I needed to share… just to release, ye know… I have initially planned to write and offer something formal article for today like what I did in my previous hosting but this topic about Asians keep on bugging me.

And so, because we are UGLY you will have to write a poem for us. Yes – our Poetics challenge for today is to write about your Asian experience/s. Have you been to any country in Asia? Have you met and able to talk to an Asian before? Do you have any experience of culture, food, tradition, people, and language in Asia? What do you know about Asians? What is your first perspective or impressions when you hear or see people coming from Asia? Do you think we are UGLY? lol… erase… erase… ok, just write anything about your own Asian experience be it current or happened a long time ago. Do you have issues about Asian people and the countries covered by Asia? Write it…. good or bad experiences we will all read… besides this is all about honesty. As I once said in a poem: “..in writing poetry you, first, have to think of honesty… and forget the beauty of frailty between you and me…” or if you think you don’t have any Asian experience yet you might want to consider this another option:

umaga   =   morning

gabi   =   evening

dapit hapon   =   sunset

bukang liwayway   =   dawn

dalagita   =   lady / young woman

binata   =   young man

saranggola / guryon / burador   =   kite

bata   =   child

binibini   =   miss

ginoo   =   mister

ilog / sapa / batis   =   river

hangin   =   wind / air

lupa   =   land / earth

ibon   =   bird

lawa   =   lake

puno / mga puno   =   tree / trees

dagat / karagatan   =   sea / ocean

lola   =   grandmother

lolo   =   grandfather

ina / inay / nanay   =   mother

ama / itay / tatay   =   father

kuya   =   older brother

ate   =   older sister

bunso   =   youngest sibling

bahay   =   house

ulap   =   clouds

langit / kalangitan   =   sky

araw   =   sun

damo / damuhan   =   grass / grassland

isda   =   fish

aso   =   dog

pusa   =   cat

tala / bituin   =   star

gubat / kagubatan   =   forest / forests

I have listed above some of the Tagalog (Philippines’ mother tongue) words with its closest translation in English for your reference. You can pick 3 to 5 or more from the list and use them in your poem or if you want more options go here and here for additional lists of some commonly used Tagalog phrases and words.

The following is my own example of mixed Tagalog – English language as used in poetry:

Two Poems: Dalagita

  I. The Mango Harvest

o mint green,
half-ripe mangoes
in baskets
of all sizes –

(and) blushing dalagitas i see
laughing ere a mango tree.

  II. Naughty Wind

then i saw her
crossed the street
a petite dalagita –

her long, night-coated hair
plays like guryon in the air.

Copyright © 2013, Kelvin S.M.. All Rights Reserved.

This ‘mix’ experimentation may sound awkward but it, always, depends on how you will use the inputs I have just provided earlier. My name is Kelvin and I am your ‘Asian’ host for today and to formally start this Asian revenge (lol) first, le’me tell ya how this will work:

• Write your poem (using the topic / prompt suggested) and post it to your blog
• Click on the Mr. Linky button below and enter your name and URL and click enter.
• This is also where you will find the list of those that have also joined in—visit others, read, comment, meet new people—let people know what you think of their verse.
• Feel free to share your link and a link to dVerse using the social media of your choice.
• …and lastly, of course, smiles…