SPENDING THE NIGHT ON PLANET MARS by Fhen M.

SPENDING THE NIGHT ON PLANET MARS by Fhen M.

The desert sand is purple blue

there are no forests, no hills, nor mountains

to block the view of the night sky

the horizon is the meeting

of the Martian landscape and the skyscape

the heaven is cloudless

the stars can even be counted

what can be observed are the galaxy

and the Aurora Borealis waving in the distance.

It is like Earth but not so much

the red planet is peaceful and tranquil

there are no wars, bloody conflict

a saintly priest, my plucky ancestor,

who defended the Balangiga Encounter

may live in the Fifth Sphere

where God's love shines from Empyrean.

Fhen M. studied the academic subjects Writing in the Discipline, The Literature of the Phillipines, and The Literature of the World at Eastern Visayas State University. The Waray poem “Uyasan” (“Toy” in English”) written by Fhen M. was published in a collection of literary works entitled Pinili: 15 Years of Lamiraw. His English verses "Lighthouse," “Seaport,” “Barbeque Stalls along Boulevard,” and “Tetrapod” appeared in Poetica anthology series published by Clarendon House. In 2024, Red Penguin Books’About Time: A Coming of Age Poetry Anthology will publish his piece “Outside the Block Universe". One of his poems will also be included in Flora/Fauna Anthology by Open Shutter Press. Fhen M. submitted verses in Waray for the 5th Lamiraw Creative Writing Workshop, including the siday “Duha nga mga pagtug-an” (translated in English as “Two confessions”). David Genotiva, Merlie Alunan, and Victor Sugbo were some of the distinguished panelists of this writing workshop held from the 5th to the 7th of November 2008.