Glossy Facade

Is everything just a glossy facade?
The ugly flaws painted over;
The dark holes boarded up
With shiny metal plates that blind.
When a crack is accidentally seen,
It is dismissed as a mirage
On the vast diamond sands
Of a desert of grand perfection.
The ants crawl like slaves--
Scavenging for food, invisible,
Unseen, ignored, stepped over.
And those are not diamond grains
But plastic beads toiled over
By millions of hands, weary and weak
Unappreciated by thousands dying
Unaware of the poison they slowly breathe.

Pagdating ng Umaga

Pagdating ng umaga
Malilinawan ng araw
Ang lahat ng tinago ng dilim
Sa ilalim ng mga anino
Ang mga bato
At ang mga binhi
Inapakan ng marami
Tinabunan ng panahon
Pero may wakas din ang gabi
Kahit anong haba nito
Sisikat din ang umaga
At ibibigay ng lakas ang lupain
Sa daming bumuhos na ulan
Ng mga nakaraang araw
Na di nakikita ang liwanag
Dahil sa mga mabibigat na ulap
Na kinailangan umiyak

IN MY MOTHER TONGUE

I want to write in my mother tongue
Yes, I write in English, the language you know
And proudly shove down my throat
And everyone else's...

I came here...
Already fluent...
But I am one of the fortunate few...
Or the damned ones who couldn't opt out?

You look at me
Assuming I speak a language...
And I stare at you
When you say "Nihau!"
Or "Muchos gracias!"

The world is more varied
Than these...
I know you are upset
That we seem to invade
But the world is always changing.

Why don't you fly across the border?
Canada is similar but it's not home...
Mexico is more than Spring Break destinations
Not all Mexicans are drug gangster.

You want to take over the world...
Wow! Your forefathers did too...
They succeeded somehow,
But look at the chaotic aftermath.

Good Reminder About Being Humble

Do not boast about tomorrow,

For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth,

A stranger, not your own lips.

~Proverbs 27:1-2~

In Washington, D.C., people are always bragging of what and who they know, what they own, what they are doing, and what they have done. It is a never-ending battle to impress others. I have tried to join it but I have quickly discovered that it is very exhausting and actually useless in trying to get a lot of things done in your workplace and your personal life.

I have learned that it is the quiet people who have done a lot of impressive stuff. In their satisfied silence, they know they have done enough and more. And most of the time, their modest hard work (without them begging for the spotlight) gets them acclaims for unknown sources and raises them even higher. I strive to follow their examples... but the pressure of upstaging others is very difficult to ignore in a world capital, whose influence is far-reaching.

HINDI KO NA RIN KILALA ANG SARILI KO

Sino ako? Di mo ako kilala?
Hindi ko na rin kilala ang sarili ko...
Nawala sa mga kasinungalingan
Na sinabi mo sa akin,
Na dapat ganito ako dapat
At ano ang tamang pag-iisip.
Sabi mo sa akin,
"Ano ang pag-sipag
Kung hindi mo maipagyabang?"
Sabi mo rin,
"Ano ang pag-angat
Kung hindi mo maabuso
Ang sistema?"
Pinawalaan ko ito!
Pero namulat ang aking mga mata
Sa liwanag ng katotohanan...

Untitled

we dig and dig
deep, deep beneath
for a treasure undiscoverable
thousands risk themselves
millions are poured in
then, regret befalls many
but many more foolishly lie
dying in stubborn hubris

Sa Gitna ng Daan

sa gitna ng daan, ako'y nahilo
paikot-ikot lang yata mga hakbang ko
wala akong patutunghan
kundi saan ako nadala
na mga paa kong pagod
pero di marunong huminga
pabalik-balik lang ako
sa simula ng aking biyahe
di ko alam kung saan ang timog,
ang hilaga, ang silangan, o ang kanluran
di ko na rin alam ang kanan o kaliwa
ang kabilang dulo ng daigdig
ay dumating din sa akin
linanguyin niya ang lawak ng karagatan
tinakbuhan niya ang malaking distansya
para sabihin lahat ng kailangan
kong malaman at intindihin

Here All Along

Returning back, I see
     The world renewing itself
Reviewing what was forgotten
     I find the missing pieces
How could these be overlooked
     Staring, begging for a glance
Perchance stepping on them
     Did not even sense them
Here all along...
     Wee as they were
They held strong
     Enforcing the foundation
Of the earth I stood on

Until Your Eyes

Hidden from view until your eyes begin to open
To look at things you once ignored
You start seeing a strange new world
That makes you feel alien
To things once familiar

Small pieces begin to explode at you
Tiny bolts and screws, microscopic stitches
Become foundations of the universe
That one missing could destroy creation