Liyab Archives - The Flame

03

Aug

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Lifetimes

WHEN I asked my friend his age, he revealed it was as young as our independence. He told me that he had seen the sun and three stars when it was first hoisted up among the clouds. That day signaled freedom for his brothers, but for him, those yellow threads…

20

Jul

By Adam Joseph Bolante

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The Last Sail to the Terminal

THE FERRYMAN laments the day his ship might never emerge again. Hours before, the tin ship, rusted with age, was packed with strangers who exchanged sweat without malice. Paper bills and coins climbed a staircase made of open palms, their scent clinging to the crevices of everyone’s hands. Dressed in…

12

Jul

By Bettina Katryn Reyes

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how much more do i need to offer

before the smoke of the candle reaches You? these hands have stayed curved to protect the weak flame about to die out. the wick can only hold so much of my plea until the wax melts into its origins. so close Your eyes, meditate. look for the sound…

06

Jul

By Anthea Anika de Sales

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Mourning Songs

HIS NAME was not Orpheus, but it might as well have been. Every song echoed like a love song as he strummed the beaten-up six-string. While the sweet melodies were meant for his bride, they flowed into the city and concealed the dangers lurking in the Manila streets. He turned…

28

Jun

By Adam Joseph Bolante

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The Beast of Quezon Drive

HAVE YOU ever felt a brush against your leg while sitting on the campus benches, or heard a faint cry just before leaving St. Raymund’s? If the answer is yes, you may have just encountered the beast of Quezon Drive. Within the trees rests a creature draped in tiger stripes,…

21

Jun

By Bettina Katryn Reyes

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When the great flood comes

MY FATHER could have been an architect — an engineer, even, so he could bump shoulders with bigger beasts. I can already taste our life in the version where he obtained his license. He would drive home in foreign cars that aren’t even available in the country yet. Once his…

07

Jun

By Adam Joseph Bolante

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The broken glass lodged into your feet

This journey is a long trail of burning sand where the oasis at the end is a spotlit stage. For every step taken is a delicate photograph, a bundle of memories traced onto glass panes. Everything I wanted and sought to keep whole were brittle sheets of…

07

Jun

By Bettina Katryn Reyes

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The Recessional

It takes approximately twenty steps to cross the Arch from Lovers Lane. At the fifth, the screaming begins: a collective, deafening exhale of years of held breath. By the tenth step, the dizziness kicks in. The momentum of my peers carries me forward. Everything is going by too fast—the high…

19

Feb

By Bettina Katryn Reyes

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Bahay-bahayan

SIGURO KUNG puwede, hinalikan na kita. 'Di ko naman dinadamdam sa gabi na maraming puwedeng makakita sa 'tin—prof ko, prof mo, kasama ko sa trabaho, pati nga kung sino mang Diyos na nasa itaas. Pero hindi puwede. mawawala ka at mawawala ako. Maaaring mawala pa tayo sa buhay ng…

10

Jan

By Hjadoeya Calica

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Pahalik sa Makasalanan

TAHIMIK lahat. Nag-iisang dibdib ang katawan at kaluluwa. Hawak-hawak ko ang lubid, pinagpapasa-pasahan, pilit tinutuwid ang daloy ng mga debotong gaya ko. Sa loob ko taimtim na nagmumuni-muni, “Ilang kamay na ang humawak dito?” Sa pag-iisip ko ako’y nawala, naamoy ang amoy ng insenso’t sigarilyo, kumakapit sa baga kong…