THE FILIPINO POLITICIAN
by Nick Carbo
When he finds his wife in bed
with another man--
The conservative politician feels
an ache in his stomach,
remembers
the longanisa and the tapa he had for breakfast.
He doesn't know whether to get
the doctor or Cardinal Sin
on the phone.
He calls one of his bodyguards, tells him
to shoot the man and then, his
wife. He takes his .38 magnum
from his brief
case, shoots his bodyguard in the back.
The liberal politician pours himself
a glass of Courvoisier,
remembers
a passage from an Anais Nin story.
He is suddenly the one they call
the Basque. He removes
his Dior tie,
his Armani shirt, his Calvin Klein boxer shorts.
He puts on a black beret, whispers,
tres jolie, tres jolie,
que bonito,
muy grande my petite amore. He joins them
in bed, begins his caresses on
the man's calves,
kisses his
way up the man's thighs.
The communist politician does
not call his wife a puta,
nor does he
challenge the man to a duel with balisong knives.
He stays calm, takes out a book
of poems by Mao Tse Tung.
Inspired,
he decides to advance the Revolution.
He takes a taxi to Roxas Boulevard,
he begins to curse
and throw
rocks at the American Embassy.
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