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May 2020 · 154
Untitled
Madelle Calayag May 2020
Have you ever felt that?  
When you don't feel good about yourself?
When you lose your appetite on things that you can do easily,
On your passion,
On your work loads.


Have you ever felt so empty?
Have you ever felt like your getting left behind?

'Coz I always do
Mar 2020 · 261
what has become of us?
Madelle Calayag Mar 2020
'Can you explain to me what has become of us?'
the song continued
as if it was played to hurt me on that evening ride.

'not even pleading can save us'
the lyrics echoed  in my mind
it haunted me as I cried myself to sleep

I closed my eyes,
yet thousands of questions deprived me from my sleep
like what happened to the both of us?
can we get back?
did I fail to love you?
did I fail to recognize that we're falling apart?
was I not enough?

But no matter how much songs would I play
no exact lyrics can answer the queries
you've left in my broken soul
Feb 2020 · 127
Hurt's Day
Madelle Calayag Feb 2020
I got no letters,
yet you gave me a long list of excuses.
No roses from you,
Yet you made me feel numb with the thorn of your words which pricked my skin
no sweet words but there were few sweet lies as I can recall

It was just a normal day.
It was a day to recall the slumbering moments of lies and bitterness.

But that was heart's day, yet all I got was hurt's day.
Hurt valentine's day heart tears lies bitterness flowers roses letters words expectations
Jan 2020 · 197
ToGetHer
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
But,
your "together"
was only
"to get her" ,
nothing more.


Love was not present on that relationship that she once had.
Jan 2020 · 285
Same Old Letters
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
I am tired of writing so much about you
I am tired of seeing how excited your eyes were,
only to find out
that you're gaze wasn't fixed to mine.
Those pair of sad eyes were searching for someone else's face
in a room full of strangers

Today, I am not writing of how sad I was,
but, I am writing the things about you-

How deaf you were
that you cannot hear what my heart was telling you-
of how sad it was,
of how tired it was,
of how numbed and calloused it was.

But now, I am relearning how to wipe my own tears
sometimes writing means remembering
Jan 2020 · 173
healing
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
remember to breathe,
wipe dry your tears.
remember to get up,
and ready yourself .

But, the thing that you need to remember
is to help your self,
because no one will
self healing should come from within
Jan 2020 · 190
confusion
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
the truth is,
it's getting harder for me
to find
the path back to you.
Jan 2020 · 358
Untitled
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
Maybe
at the end of this day
I would stop begging
for your time and attention.
Maybe, just maybe.
Jan 2020 · 365
Liquors of Despair
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
She shaved her head,
the kind
that rebels do
in the past.
She lit a cigarette,
and blew off
tiny clouds of smoke
that she believed
could conceal
her thoughts
privately.

The thoughts
that deprives her of her sleep.

She drank
liquors of despair
of what she described
of her first taste of tequilla
-bittersweet.

Yet
she managed to look up
, raised her camera.
She pointed,
aimed and shoot
for that moon
hanging in the sky.
The moon that witnessed
most of her sorrowful nights,
the moon
who saw every tear drops
that seem to reflect
a little sparkle
with the stars light.

She picked up some debris
of the shattered mirror
under the lamp post,
and studied her face.

Her stare went blank,
it doesn't anymore show
thousands of stories
of resentments,
of remorse
and trepidation
but
fear and hopelessness.

She's gone numb and cold.

And with a sigh,
she let out the words
slowly,
"My heart has cried a story that a writer couldn't even tell"
Jan 2020 · 2.5k
Buhay laban sa Palay
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
Maaga kong nilisan
ang lupang sakahan
Tinahak ang lugar
na maingay at magara,
ito pala ang Maynila.

‘di napigilan ng tirik na araw
ang aming pagkukumpulan.

Nagkamayan
kaming magkakabrad,
Simula na ng himagsikan.

Sariwa pa sa alala
kung pa’no
kami inagrabyado.
Itinulak.
Binugbog.
Tinakot.
Ginamitan ng dahas.

Sa plano ng gobyerno
kami pa rin pala ang talo.

Paano pa kami mabubuhay
kung wala ng lupang mapagtatamnan?

Akala ko sa bundok
o gubat lang may ahas
-yun ay sa akala ko lang pala.

Sa’ming magsasaka’y
Kumukulapot ang putik
Ngunit
sa inyong mga nakabarong,
animoy
walang duming nakabahid.

Sa inakala kong
tubig lang ang maaaring
idilig,
Dugo
pala nami’y pwede ring
pumatik.
Tila ba ang gobyerno’y namamanhid.

Nasaan na
ang pinangako nyong
libreng abono?

Ginawa nyo na bang pataba
sa mga bulsa nyo!?

Sa pagpunta
ng mga imperyalistang bansa,
Matutulugan
pa ba kaming mga dukha?
Makatatayo ako
sa aking pagkakadapa
Ngunit
ang bayan
kong nakalugmok ,
makakaahon pa kaya?
I wrote this four years ago for the Filipino farmers
Jan 2020 · 203
pretender
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
Here’s for your calloused heart,
the one you endured to have,
Here’s for the stories
you can’t tell to anyone,
Here’s for the chances
you didn’t take,
Here’s for the story
that you can never
put to an end.

Woe
for that growing chaos
that chose to live
inside your own mind.
the first rain of May
Jan 2020 · 117
Gruesome show
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
You were bruised,
you were keeping
the pain inside of you.
You acted like the happiest kid on earth,
you cracked jokes,
greet people
while you wore
that fake smile,
that fake
chagrin smile.
Yet
when you face the mirror
and stare at your own reflection,
you’re eyes
were telling you the truth.

You’ve showed them
that you were fine,
you lied
with your actions,
but
your eyes won’t play
with
your
gruesome show.
Jan 2020 · 142
train of melancholy
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
You were there
inside a train trapped in a moment
of confusion and despair -
with so many faces
that you don’t want to see.
in a busy station
where everyone was rushing chasing the time,
not knowing that time chases them.

You were keeping your balance,
leaning in that shabby pole,
in that nauseating situation
where escape will never be an option,

Weighing the pros and cons of your dreams,
together
with all the other passengers
who are facing
some of their life’s secret and silent battles.

You inhaled all those bitter thoughts of grief
and exhaled the air of fake relief,
wishing you’d exited the train of melancholy.

But
your heart was a liar,
you’ve pretended
that things will be the same
after all the sheet of ***** you’ve discovered.

When you’re puzzled
you don’t really know
how to explain what you feel or perhaps,
you really don’t know what to feel anymore.

It’s like
anxiety and despair
has enjoyed their company
with you.

You endured all those pain for years,
you suffered with your own fears
who have loved to visit you at night.
You befriended those sorrows,
you were even wrapped in their misery embrace.

And for a moment,
you thought you should have gone home.
You should have rested all these thoughts,
you should have played your cards properly.

You even made escape route
on your own chaos,
but that route can only be taken
when you had a cigarette on your right hand
and a cold bottle of beer on your left.

But,
crying yourself to sleep
won’t be enough solution,
You were so tired
of living with the real truth
that people’s
words
sting.

You looked from afar
and wondered
when will the time come
when you will no longer feel
being
left
out?

when will that morning come
to an end
when you will no longer see
tear stains on your pillows?

When will those nights end
when you would eat dinner
alone
in your own room?

the thing you opted to do  
when you started
to withdraw yourselves from people.

You tightened
your gripped on the train handle
and convinced yourself
that if ever someone asked if you were hurt,
you would tell them you weren’t.

but all of these thoughts vanished,
when you heard someone say
“Next station Pureza, ang susunod na istasyon ay Pureza”
Jan 2020 · 132
Surrender
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
I talked to Him
about you,
about us…
of how we’re facing the battles that I saw in my dreams.
I asked Him
to gear you up
and prepare you for the ‘tougher ones'.
Things may get difficult,
confusion will arise to the people
who may also get offended
or saddened with my sudden decisions.
I may get to face their criticisms
and avoid their inquisitive stares.
And answer the questions
that none of us chose to talk about.
I pleaded
that He may grant us the gift
of healing
and acceptance.
Jan 2020 · 404
Avoidance
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
the thing is that,
we didn’t talk about how it happened.
We chose silence,
we chose to avoid getting hurt,
until confusion and series of question
were the only thing left in our pockets.
May we not forget that rainy afternoon
when we decided
to break our own rules
and our own hearts as well.
Jan 2020 · 2.5k
Palimos ng Bigas
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
Pagmasdan mo ako.

Damhin mo ang magaspang kong palad na bagamat ay nangulubot ay syang humahalik sa putikang sakahang pinaghihirapan.

Titigan mo ang mga mata kong hapung-hapo sa pagtanggap sa bagsak-presyong palay na katumbas ng presyo ng isang tsitsirya.

Ngunit, pakikinggan mo ba sila sa sasabihin nilang wag kaming papamarisan?

Sa bawat hakbang ko papalayo sa lupang sakahan

ay sya namang hakbang ko papalapit sa mataas na antas ng pakikibaka.

Kakalabanin ang pasistang gobyernong pilit yumuyurak sa katulad naming mga dukha.



Isa ako sa may pinakamaliliit na tinig sa lipunan.

Isa ako sa hindi maintindihan ng nakararami na isa sa mga nagtatanim ngunit ngayon ay walang makain.

Patawarin mo ako sa paglisan ko’t pagsama sa mga pagpupulong at sa pakikidigma para sa natatanging kilusan.

Dahil ako ang bumabagtas sa estrangherong lugar na kung tawagin ay Maynila.

Ako ngayon ang mukha ng mga magbubukid, ng mga inapi at ng mga pinagkaitan ng karapatan sa ilalim ng berdugong administrasyon ng bayan kong hindi na nakalaya.

Ako ang estrangherong kumilala sa bawat sulok at lagusan ng Mendiola na piping-saksi sa mga panaghoy naming kailanma’y hindi pakikinggan ng nakatataas.

Ako at ng aking mga kasama, ang bagong dugong isasalin sa sistemang ninanais naming patakbuhin.

Patawarin mo ako sa pagpili kong matangay sa agos ng mabilisang kamatayan tungo sa pulang kulay ng rebolusyon.

Ngunit, kailanman ay hindi nyo maiintindihan,

na hindi naging mali na ipaglaban ko ang aking bayan.
for the Filipino farmers
Jan 2020 · 229
painting the pain away
Madelle Calayag Jan 2020
I prepared new brushes to draw and paint
all the pain and bruises you’ve given me.

Yes, new brushes and gouaches for the fresh wounds
and heartaches that I would conceal in the coming days…

I’ll paint the bleeding sky for that chaos I chose not to end.
I’ll paint those nameless people who saw us together that night, wait, did they envied what they just witnessed?

I don’t quite know, but infatuation can go beyond the sleepless nights,
and in a fraction of a second can turn pain into trepidation and longing.

I’ll give you an exact picture of the hues of gray and black in the stories of ours
which we chose to finally put into an end.

— The End —