Artist, I May Be

Words, I cannot escape from...
Letters enlarged on a poster
As I walk through the subway
Stations and platforms so many
Evoke thoughts...
Syllables uttered as sounds
Passes lips into my ears
Echo to my head...

Patterns, I can not ignore...
Colors tantalize my eyes
As I go on my day
Silently calling out their invitation
To join their play...
Forms shape my view
Of all beautiful things
And I am helpless...

Artist, I may be...
(But I do sometimes fail
At appreciation of all these)
Am I truly too sensitive...
That no one else
Lives like this...
Eternally enraptured
In sounds and sights?

Continue the Grand Tradition

In the great hall
Of portraits of great poets,
One wonders if one can be...
One to continue the grand tradition
Of the creation of beautiful verses--
That speaks to the soul,
So hidden in the chaos
Of shouts and screams,
Of a world senseless,
Insane, incomprehensible,
Amid change, amid uncertainty,
Amid mass murder, great destruction,
And perpetual de-construction...

We'll Taste the Past

one by one, they'll fall
each tiny leaf one at a time
yellow, orange... slowly
slowly painting the brown earth
harvesting is upon us
we reap that were once seeds
tiny seeds...
we know not what they'll become
just what we saw
from where they were born of
and what they appeared to be
today, we'll taste the past
we'll remember everything

A Past That I Flew Away From

Lucky I am, I repeat
Repeat and repeat
But I remember
Remember my past
Filled with poverty and neediness
Filled with illogical cruelty
A past that I flew away from
But I find myself
In the chaos of a powerful storm
That led me to this
To this madness of opulent carelessness
And hedonistic gibberish
Oceans away these lands are
My feet are planted here
But my soul flies
Back and forth to the other

Slave of the World

I don't want to forget
My true self
Far is the homeland
From where my feet are
Many languages I will know
But I will not forget my first tongue
In my clothes
You will not see my soul
It easily gets lost
In the chaos of this big world
I need to always set
In front of me
The picture of my blood
That in my whole life
Will flow through my body
I cannot change this
No matter what I do
'Cause this is what God gave me
If I forget this
I will be a real slave
Of the world that does not understand itself

Alipin ng Mundo

Ayaw kong limutin
Ang aking tunay na sarili
Malayo sa 'king pinaggalinggan
Ang mga paa kong ito
Iba't-ibang salita ang malalaman ko
Pero di ko malimutan ang unang wika
Sa aking damit
'Di mo makikilala ang aking kaluluwa
Madaling mawala ito
Sa gulo ng malaking mundo
Kailangan kong ilagay lagi
Sa 'king harapan
Ang larawan ng dugo
Na buong buhay ko
Ay dadaloy sa 'king katawan
'Di ko ito mapapalitan
Kahit anong gawin ko
Dahil ito ang ibinigay ng Diyos
Kung malilimutan ko ito
Ako'y tunay na alipin
Ng mundo na di maintindihan ang sarili

sampaguita & ilang-ilang

the fragrant scents of sampaguita and ilang-ilang remind me of my younger days. though it has been a very long time since my lungs have inhaled these intoxicating tropical aromas, i can clearly recall the clean smell of sampaguita and the heavy sweet fragrance of the ilang-ilang tree in bloom. those were my carefree days when i could dream to no end not worrying what the world thinks of me. to me, the world was still full of wonders. my eyes still so fresh, i saw the world as a safe playground where nothing or no one could hurt me.

Trapped

poison
greed, not enough
corruption, unethical
self-centeredness

                  halfway here
                  it reaches me...
                  learning that
                  it is also here
                  no escape

and it continues
there seems no end
it is insistent
it suffocates, it drains

                  nightmare after nightmare
                  it haunts, it taunts
                  no escape, no escape
                  i am trapped

ELEVEN YEARS HAVE PASSED

Eleven years have passed
Since my ideal world has crashed
First, all I saw was shattered glass
Today, I see sharp thin pieces
Once invisible, now glares
The rough fragments I've glued
Layer by layer crashed back down
Picking up tiny pieces again
I cut my hands and bleed...

SUMMER, STAY, PLEASE STAY

Beauty is in the air, the lazy summer air...
Filled with mysterious notes
Of piano keys struck delicately
Fireflies flit all around the garden
Filled with such fragrant flowers, they intoxicate.
Summer evenings are glimpses
Of a dreamland that inspires gentleness
Also evokes joy for the grandeur of this world
Even in the midst of despairing darkness.
Summer, stay, please stay...
Stay to comfort shattered hearts!
Bring laughter to sad souls!
Lift spirits to the Sun!

THE LIFE OF THIS GIRL

the life of this girl
appeared in her eyes like a pearl
she tried to keep her eyes shut
blinding her but...

IKOT-IKOT ANG MUNDO

ikot-ikoy ang mundo
hindi siya hihinto para kanino man
kahit di ka gumalaw ng maraming taon
nanatili ka sa isang lugar
kahit isang hakbang di mo ginawa
iikot pa rin ang mundo
paikot-ikot ang mundo
walakng katapusan
kung mayroon man
malayong-malayo pa

Strangers to You

a "twist of fate" they say
when the easterly wind becomes a westerly
suddenly in unfamiliar waters
the surface is neither rough or smooth
the stars above are strangers to you
your friend, the north star
has vanished from sight
the map onboard, you trusted
now cannot help navigate

Phantom Shadow

A phantom shadow follows me
Everywhere, night and day
He gives me no rest
From memories of blood and diamond
That created a fragmented portrait
Of an illusional dream
That enchants incessantly
The glare of diamond afar
So enticing, so inviting
It blinds me of the deep abyss
That protects it from being taken
Far from its comfortable throne

Discovering the Lie

Days go by...
Sometimes zipping through
Sometimes crawling by
When I don't think of you

I thought I had a clue
To the route to happiness
I went on it to the yonder blue
Onward I press

I thought this was best
Then I realized I'd die
In my own worst guess
Discovering the lie

The Words All But Lie

The feathery clouds drift by
As I let out a very long sigh
Trains go in, go out the station

Letting loose the reins of my imagination
Pouring out all my passion
Onto this fragile sheet

The pen, the blank pages greet
The flat surface and ink meet
The words all but lie

Adding...

There are countless numbers
Appearing insignificant alone
But when amassed together
They can overwhelm

One malignant cell
Poses no harm
But when multiplied
Can kill

One drop of blood
Trickle down a pool
Of already blood shed
Adding...

Rain Drop, Drop

drops of rain drop, drop
drop on the pavement
becoming puddles, growing puddles
they gather in the cracks
of the uneven sidewalk
careful not to step on them
you weave through them
making a left, making a right
even leaping over a few
but somehow
you manage to get soaked
the rain is pouring, pouring
pouring on your head
for you forgot your umbrella
in the cab or was it on the train
were you left it by your seat