once nothing before
it was       around    Me,

consuming, chemical
imbalance.  a photon

too much      here,a rivet
for something to   grow,

algal bloom was coming
,the green is so    aglow

Night spreads its dark wings
on a faint path upwards.
Steps climb toward the dark.
The secret cave of the heart
reveals its magic to the dreamer.
Its sapphire mist veils the fikir’s
lamp within.

Along the path the ancient oak’s
strudy branches remain still.
This mountain is a place of silence
where worldly sounds fade to
ghostly whispers.

Here one enters the mist alone
far from the stirring of moonlit
wings. Searching among a thousand
clouds in the half-lightof the unanswered
question : where is eternity along the path
unknown and the courage to search
beyond reality ?

Kada sinusubukan kong sumulat sa wika ng aking ina,
nariyan pa rin ang sa ama, tila nagbabantay,
tila ingay na pumupuslit sa gabing malumanay.
Tila ito konsensiyang kakatok sa aking pinto,
sa gitna ng mahimbing na tulog mga alas tres pasado.

Ang pangalan ng mga kalye sa aking siyudad,
ang pangalan ng mga kalsada sa pamayanan,
ano ang sa wika ko, alin ang sa'yo, at sa dayo?

Kada sinusubukan kong umawit sa Tagalog,
bubulong ang mga rondalla, gitara't iba pang instrumento:
"anong wika ng pangalan naming ito?"
Kaunti na lang ay tutula na rin ang aking kama:
"hindi ba't oras na para sa banyo?"

Ang pangalan ng mga bayani sa labanan,
ang pangalan ng mga ninuno ng angkan,
alin dito ang salin, ano ang sa Tagalog?

Twilight blue rebounds behind
A great ridge of color
Calling for man
To stand before the night

From a distance
Quiet but restless
The brazen foliage always falls
Darkness follows every time

I cannot sleep for in the street
A thousand mournful cries
The skies are red and carnage spread
Through a thousand lies

From mourning bells to fairy tales
A Criticism said
For city streets and summer heat
Torments whose left with dread

And clouds smother men as they roll in
A hard rain will come
Lightning strikes like the crack of live bones
And the hoarse words of Cain’s son

And I hear the cries of the
Children - the ones lost
In the dark

I know they want a future,
But I fear
They lost the spark

It was sundown
The sun had just set
The moon was out
A large white ball on the horizon
It almost looked surreal
Just hanging there
As if on a thread
Against a gray blue backdrop
Clouds painted the sky
Fluffy and white
With two openings
From which white bands of light shone down
It’s as if they came from heaven
Natures art
From the master
Of everything

To all intents and purposes
The king died on his throne
The court gathered in their masses
He was far from alone
Flanked by his truest knights
He tried to stand
And hail the throng
The mob sweetly
Took his breath
To sing
His final song.