MAINGAY

Nais ko lang naman marinig ang huni ng mga ibon.

Ngunit aking narinig ay ang makinang bakal na naguumpugan,

Ang mga ugong ng rumaragasang sasakyan,

Ang tunog ng motor paakyat na kalsada

Jusko nais ko na lang silang sigawan.

.

Nais kong lang naman marinig ang mga kawayang nagsasayawan.

Habang umiihip ang malamig at sariwang hangin.

Ipinikit ko ang aking mga mata —

Nyamet! Rumaragasa na naman ang sunod-sunod na sasakyang paakyat sa kalsada.

May motorcade ba??

.

Tumahimik. 

Lumipas ang dalawang minuto.

.

Makina na naman — tunog ng mga pinuputol na puno.

Wow! grabe anong klaseng background music to?

Mga puno ang pumapaligid sa akin pero dinig ko ang mga tunog ng mga ikinakatakot kong unti-unting lalamon sa magandang tanawin na ‘to.

.

(25th OCTOBER 2020. 1253HRS. BAGUIO CITY)

“Overlooking Dusk” (a Haiku)

Drinking black coffee
Over treasured memories
Bring back time to me.

 

(9th May 2020. 1852 HRS.)

Existence

In this busy world

Is there time to acknowledge

(Your) true existence?

 

Does one live the day 

not by how the world demands

life to be lived?

 

To be free.

 

In this busy world,

is there time to acknowledge

How you truly feel

and be equally understood?

 

In this busy world,

can one make time stop

To paint a bright future

only having to think of oneself 

Yet not being selfish?

 

In this busy world,

is there one that truly listens

and understands how the other feels?

 

Can one afford to be honest to himself —

To his own deepest thoughts and feelings?

 

When two people come together,

Do they recognize

Each other’s

(True) existence?

 

Do you exist

 

living the way you truly want to live?

 

(17th April 2020. 0948 HRS. BAGUIO CITY. ECQ DAYS.)                                                      (Image: 29th November 2019. 2052HRS)

Palayan

Ang buhay ng tao parang mga palayan

na natatanaw sa daan pauwi sa amin.

 

Binabagyo, nababad sa araw,

binabaha’t tinatangay ng hangin.

 

Ngunit sa huli’y, namumunga pa rin

upang sa ‘ting mga hapag ay may maihain.

 

17 February 2020. 2141 HRS.

Post Teachers’ Day

Often times we complain that you don’t teach everything we have to know for the exam.
Thank you to our gradeschool teachers who taught us how to read by ourselves.

There are times we come in too late for class.
Little did we realize you might had to wake up at 4AM to prepare what we had yet to learn.

Oh my! I hate it when you give difficult exams.
Little did we realize that you were also once a student studying so hard to earn this profession.

Most of the time, we end up forgetting lessons as soon as we pass your subject.
We do not realize that you study the same lesson all over again to teach the same subject every single year.
It disappoints us when we get low scores in exams. Little did we know that it also breaks your heart and you too hoped we could have done better.

We often insist that you give partial points and hate you for not doing so.
But thank you, because it teaches us to not settle with less than what we can achieve.

To our thesis advisers, often times we think you make our problems harder than we could have imagined, little did we understand that you just want us to see what we couldn’t.

I hate it when you expect us to know what we don’t.
But thank you for believing that we can learn them ourselves.

(Written: 21st November 2018, Near Midnight)

(Photo: 10th September 2019, 1821HRS)

 

 

 

 

For Whom The Poem Speaks

Surround yourself with people who believe in what you can do.

And those that continually encourage you to keep reaching what they believe you can.

Work with people who are honest enough to admit that they too have struggles.

But remains to strive with you toward your individual potentials.

Surround yourself with those that know how to praise you with your smallest achievements

in times you can’t see how far you’ve gone.

Be with people who remind you that you’re greater that your own doubts.

And that you can achieve more than what you ever thought you can

 

19 September 2019. 0932 HRS. While drinking my coffee. BAGUIO CITY.

T.Y. — To You, Thank You

Be thankful for the people you could talk to 

and actually listen.

To those that understand almost exactly how you feel.

 

Be thankful for the people who remind you to laugh

and actually make you laugh.

Be thankful for those who understand how you feel 

and actually know how to make you feel better.

 

Be thankful for the people who remind you to relax

when you can’t find the time and reason to do so.

Be thankful for people who remind you to eat lunch

when you’d rather choose not to.

 

Be thankful for people who remind you that you’re not alone

And keep you company

Be thankful for people who acknowledge that we have our own battles 

and remind you: “you can do it”.

 

Be thankful for people who remind you to believe in your self

because they believe in you, too.

 

Be thankful.

But most importantly, show them — 

Show them that you are a better version of you everyday,

because they believed you can be.

 

27th July 2019.

Don’t Hold Back

If we stop now,

imagine all the opportunities 

that stops with it.

 

If we stop now,

you’re making that which seems impossible

be impossible

when in fact,

they are possible.

 

The future was never dictated by doubts

but by brave souls that used their doubts

as motivation to pursue the bright future.

 

31 Jul 2019. 1136HRS.

A Young Braveheart

I was frightened for him.
He was shaking and, perhaps, in a panic
While figuring out his steps in the monkey bars
I just wanted him to get back on the ground
At the same time, I didn’t want to bring his hopes down —
He can do it
He can climb ’til the end of the bars!

He believed he can do it
He was brave

So I just cheered him up
Still frightened and worried
As I keep an eye on his every step

It took a while but he did it!
He reached the top of his climb on the monkey bars.
At that moment, I thought
Nothing stops a child with a brave, courageous, determined heart — If a child can conquer a man’s fears,
What is there that a man with a brave heart (and determination) cannot achieve.

The Deer

The clouds in the sky look like white feathers,

It feels like I could reach for them as if they were falling

The blue sky was peeking over each of them,

As the sun slowly moved to see who was looking.

 

The mountains surround this area I stood on

It stands up firm and proud like a king on its thrown

It was filled with green fields of grass and trees

Between each were waterfalls and rivers flowing.

 

I paused for a while and lay on a meadow

Closed my eyes as I hear the birds tweeting,

Enjoyed the cold breeze of the wind that was blowing,

Then I woke up and things were not on their usual being.

 

At the foot of a mountain a village lays.

Where architects found a base for a building

Roads, bridges and dams were built

And year after year, structures were growing.

 

The noise I hear is not the birds tweeting,

But vehicles on the road, heavily roaring,

The smoke was not from the barbecues roasting,

But from a mountain where trees were slowly burning.

 

The sky above was not as blue as before,

The air I breathe is not as refreshing,

The ocean was not as clear as the river flowing,

Trash around, the fruit flies were enjoying.

 

I strolled to look for fruits for my stomach was rumbling,

I walked around to see what was happening

While over the trees I was continuously looking,

Beside me I saw a deer begging, slowly dying.

 

(A repost: 21st September 2014)