by Jan Franz O. Macaso

 

this world is a horror story,
when the news comes out where will you be?

these shoes worn by people
only differ in sizes yet
the same with their fight over the nihilistic,
where the dreamers look for an indigo moon:
the fruit bat drinks the juice of the banana,
the same way the goods are carried in boxes;
freshly made from the oven of the nuclear,
contemplating what is heaven and what is hell.

this world is a horror story,
when the news comes out where will you be?

these bracelets worn by people
only differ in tightness, yet
the same make peace to things they will hate next
where the nightmares get amplified on the grainy telly:
a tarsier jumps because a person touched it,
the same way bullets are sprayed over children
playing pretend it is made of raindrops.

this world is a horror story,
when the news comes out where will you be?
.

Jan Franz O. Macaso: I grew up speaking Filipno and a little bit of English. I guess, I consider myself a late bloomer in learning or writing using the English language? At most, I got lucky with being exposed to it at a young age because both my parents are teachers, and we had many books that catered to my imaginative mind. Learning English when I was a child wasn’t really a priority for me, but I had to because I needed it to understand Science, History, Mythology, Biology, and Dinosaur books.

Before my freshman year in high school, I saw an English grammar book and it piqued my interest, so I practiced and studied it over and over. It is after reading Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that I felt I must take writing seriously though. This helped me gain a bit of confidence in using both Filipino and English in writing, led me to major in English at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (struggled a bit with speaking because I often stutter, especially during class recitations), helped me with my job for a BPO company, and at the moment, helps me with my current job as an assistant editor for a publishing company here in the country.

[RETURN TO AUDITORY CORTEX 2019]

Jan Franz O. Macaso was born in Manila, Philippines and was raised in Caloocan City. He is a graduate of BA English from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He learned Filipino and Filipino English growing up from his parents who are both teachers in a public school. Exposure to his grandfather’s stories, educational materials, books, and card games back when he was younger made him interested in reading more about Science, History, and Mythology. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn led to his interest in learning more about the English language in high school and motivated him to write.