Poem | Push Cart

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not repost or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

A

    n

        o

            l

                d

                    man in a rag clothes    Black, brown and unwashed

                    Dirt underneath his fingernails    Scorching sun guides him

                    Through a narrow street of    Cars with cracked and faded paint

        

                    And individuals gazing from their  Porches with glazed eyes taking

                    Deep breath with mouth wide open    The stench of dried,

                    yellow urine    On the side of the abandoned store

                                    Discarded                            cardboards

                            Taking shelter amongst        rats and cockroaches

                                and dirty rubbish                  And his push cart

                                    with red                                    handle

Poem | The Grip of Fear

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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Fear crawled from my toes

Tickling my senses and settling in my stomach

Fear churned within my thoughts of

Broken hearts not necessarily mine

From my stomach, fear gradually reached

The mouth which refuses to speak

Of truth that may or may not destroy

Poem | Thank You

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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Holding myself tightly, arms around my belly

I lie upon the soft mattress cushioning

The fall in which I find myself

With tears blinding my eyes

And flowing like a river upon my cheek

Glistening time and time again

With the occasional sunlight kissing me

To sleep; for I am grateful to the 

Warmth provided by your embrace

Short Story | Rim of the World

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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    She decided to do this partly because the suffocation inside the house she once considered home was slowly choking her spirit, and, well, to flee from him.

    Heidi and Terrence had been together for ten years now. They were high school sweethearts, later on, husband and wife. Who would have thought... yeah, who would've thought; indeed. 

Short Story | Coyote Pretty

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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Trigger Warning! <Implied Murder>

    I slammed the beer mug on the counter gulping the whole contents and burped loudly, "Boss! Another mug!"

    The bartender shook his head at me but quietly took my mug and refilled it with a foamy, urine-colored beverage.

Poem | Smoke Blowing, Lungs Protesting

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

"Smoke Blowing, Lungs Protesting" is a poem published in the literary magazine The Pacific Review's 40th Issue, Aflame and Unafraid.  See links below:

The Pacific Review  

40th Issue: Aflame and Unafraid

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Short Story | A Shot

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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Trigger Warning! <Slut Shaming>

    "Remember when we were in a crunch and you suddenly shot and scored a three-pointer?" Kintaro did not remember. Instead of answering, he sipped his beer. Kintaro may not remember that particular shot, but he remembered that their team lost in his last season. Afterward, senior year was all about studying, eight p.m. cram school, and dozens of mock exams before taking the Sentā Shiken for college admission. 

Short Story | Return

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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    Julia and Fred hopped in their car at around nine after breakfast to got to Rancho Cucamonga. They took CA-210 for a smoother drive, or so they thought. The sun was high and blazing causing a throbbing headache on top of Julia's unbearable motion sickness. Their 2005 Toyota Camry moved at less than five miles an hour and her partner was a really bad driver. He didn't need to push on the pedal for a small distance and abruptly jolt them to a stop with another deep thrust on the break.

Short Story | Nine-Fifty-Six

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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    She walks along the noodle aisle of an empty 7-Eleven located around the curb two blocks away from her one-room apartment and hastily picks two chicken-flavored Maruchan cup noodles. It's 9:56 in the evening and the lone cashier has his back bent toward his phone while his headphone is blaring volume max. She stands on the other side of the counter full of urgency, but a minute already passes, and he seems to double his focus on the video he's watching.

Introduction

Hello everyone!

I welcome you to Poems And Stories! My name is Jennifer Mangaoang, a university student majoring in Public Health. As a hobby, writing is a form of coping, and I find myself hoping that my words will also inspire others and find comfort in them.

Best,

Poems and Stories