Lately you've been afloat
Grasping on air and stumbling each time

Always lost,
always searching
For something to ground you,
something to call yours

Lately you've been dreaming
Of what-ifs and could-have-beens

Never knowing,
never wanting to
As you'll only be left wondering
But still alone

Blasted by the wind,
Consumed in blazing fire,
Sulked in the rain
and now here you are,
on your feet, resilient
with a smirk that says 'I finally see it now'

Settled dust on your palms twinkled
No one else would again take away your light
No more free floating,
You need only acceptance from yourself

Brushing off the smudge on your face
'Welcome back',
you thought as your bare feet landed on solid ground

You kept sending me mixed signals
A week ago, you were telling me you miss me
Now you're saying you wanna call it quits
Remember when you joked about being obsessed with me lately?
I so badly wanted to know what changed
between you being sober and after a bottle of gin

Funny how the most guarded people are often the most sentimental too.

I still carry a part of all the people I’ve loved before.

I’m sure you’ll still find in me traces and bits that say ‘you were here.’

And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing; it just means that I love few and rarely, but I love deep.

And that the love felt— no matter how short or long it lasted— was real.

No more rule breaking
Finally realized that I used to break my own rules
for people who eventually hurt then left me in the end

Thank you for letting me know that I could still fall,

that I could still smile at the simplest things— like good morning and good night texts

or stupid selfies and corny jokes

And while it didn't work out between with us,

now I know my heart could still fall and flutter and love

And maybe one day, it will again

My city boy, have you found your city girl yet?

Might be too late but I was hoping we could make it

With the city lights and the parties that never seem to go down,

Thought ‘no, we are too different to be meant to be’

My city boy, how have you been?

Might be a long while now but it’s you I have been missing

With the smoke up in the air, and the cold wind blowing

Thought ‘hey, maybe we should’ve tried harder’

My city boy, you’ve always been

meant for a different thing, I guess

And here I’d stay, with my music and wide-eyed gaze and the quiet

Suburban girl, that’s what I’d always be

And you, my city boy, will remain where you want to be

Please don’t be temporary.

I’ve had enough of good morning messages that felt like they took only seconds in cycle, of “take care” that lasted only a few days.

I’ve had enough of “I’ll always be here” and “let me take care of you.”

In the end they all left.

In the end, they were all only temporary.

I was their temporary, just a fleeting thought, never a composed one; just a little chat bubble they can choose to ignore or answer.

Soon enough, I’m the girl you only remember when a certain song plays in the car or when a movie plays on TV.

Truth be told, it’s sad to think that whenever another goodbye approaches, I find myself saying, “It’s alright, I’m used to it anyway.”

I never was.

So please, don’t be temporary.

And if you plan to be, at least warn me.

Hindi mo mapapatahimik ang mga kumakalam na sikmura

Ang mga sumisigaw para sa pagbabago,

para sa katarungan

para sa ating mga karapatan

Maari **** busalan ang kanilang mga bibig,

magpanggap na wala kang naririnig

O piringan ang kanilang mga mata,

magbulag-bulagan sa katotohanan na sa bawat karapatan na patuloy kinikitil at niyayapakan,

baka sa’yo na ang susunod

Pero sabi mo, ‘bakit pa ako makikisali, hindi naman ako apektado’

o ‘bakit ba sila nanggugulo, wala namang magandang nadudulot ‘to’

Hindi ka sumasama sa laban,

dahil ngayon hindi pa ikaw ang nasa loob ng rehas kahit walang kasalanan

Hindi pa ikaw ang sapilitang hinuhuli at tinatadyakan sa daan

dahil lamang pinaglalaban mo ang iyong kabuhayan

Hindi pa ikaw ang nakahandusay sa daan, duguan

dahil lang napagkamalan

Hindi pa

Pero baka malapit na

Hihintayin mo pa ba?

I wasn’t perfect. far from it, really.

But you weren’t either.

Still, I would have kept choosing you,

if you had only let me.

I would have helped you fight your demons,

if you had only let me.

Only I was willing to look at it as glass half full

You’ve always seen it as half empty.

maingay ang mga mata,

anumang hindi kayang banggitin ng labi o ng pagkumpas ng mga kamay,

kayang iparating ng mga mata

ng mga luhang nagingilid, nagbabadya ng pagpatak

ng pagkasingkit at pagkapugto nila na tila magdamag ang hinagpis

ng pamumula na paalala ng sakit na pinipilit mang ikubli ng labi o pagkumpas ng mga kamay

ay hindi maitago ng maingay na mga mata

Pumatak ang ulan, unti-unti

Kasabay ng pagbugso nito ay ang musika na ikaw lamang ang nakakarinig

Sinubukan **** silipin ang mga tala na nagtatago sa likod ng mga ulap

Ngunit ngayong gabi, maging sila ay mailap

Isang awit ang nagwakas at isa pa ang muling nagsimula pero nandito ka pa rin

Hindi pa rin maihakbang ang mga paang tila nagapos sa kalungkutan at pag-iisa

Masyado na ata silang nasanay na walang naghahanap, na walang tumatanggap

Kaya heto’t kahit usigin mo ay hindi bumibitaw sa kawalan na tila walang nakakaramdam kundi ikaw

Wala pa rin ang iyong hinihintay

Titila na ang ulan at maaari ka nang magtampisaw sa naiwan nitong buhay

Ngunit wala pa rin ang iyong tinatanaw

Perhaps, no one has been brave enough before to stay

No one has ever cared enough to not let go

And that’s why you succumbed to the belief

that the only way to deal with hurt

is to shut people out

Gone were the days where women are damsel in distress
We still wear our black and golden tresses but
we are warriors

Gone were the days where princesses are supposed to just look pretty
Come on now, we aren’t that petty
We aren’t begging for pity

We are more than crowns and labels and titles
We’ve learned to pick-up swords
We reach for the moon and stars
We have long mended our own wounds and scars

We soar though castles of clouds
Where your judgement blows up in smokes
Where there’s nothing but acceptance of diversities
Where we aren’t defined by how good of a cook we are not
Or how good we are at keeping an entire household sparkling clean

A woman isn’t just a woman
She’s madness and beauty at the same time

Chaos and calm if you will closely look
She’s weakness and strength combined into one amazing soul
Too rare and abundant in this world

She is a woman and yet, she’s more than just a woman

In another life,
We would've lived in a house with a red door,
And lemon trees outside the window

A girl with a silver hair and dark brown eyes
Another with dark curls and amethyst eyes
A boy dreaming of swords and being a knight
Would be running around
Chasing horses

But we were born in the midst of clashing kingdoms
In a world run by betrayal
Families strengthened by treason

Still, in spite of all the impossibility,
Two worlds collided
But this frigid harsh place,
Its icy-cold people
Ceased the fire out

So in another life,
Ice and fire will soon meet
Duty and honor be ******
This time, love won't accept defeat

The power, the title, the throne, the crown
All means nothing without you to keep me warm

The glory, the war, the army, the victory
Still, your heart was the most precious I’ve won

The cold, the grief, the numbness, the pain
If only you have come to ease a little of them

Don’t you know, my love?
I would’ve walked away from it all,
Would’ve stayed a thousand years far from here
If you had only asked

A house with a red door, lemon trees outside
The mundane things I have long desired

But you stood on my downfall,
Yet I have looked at you
As if the sun shines just through your eyes

You, the one I have loved and chose,
Have failed me the most

A bit of hope, a lot of love
Gone were they
When a dagger was pierced through my heart

The worst kind of monster isn’t the one
with big claws and sharp teeth
who'll find you in your sleep

But instead the one
who wears a captivating smile
with pretty face and pretty eyes
who'll let you fall into an abyss

The worst kind of monster isn’t the one
who show himself
with his ugly scars
and ****** hands

But instead the one who will charm you to let him in
who'll hunt you down until you cannot hide away

The worst kind of monster isn’t the one
who breaks down the door
and tears the wall apart

But instead the one you willingly let into your home
to take what you hold dear the most

The worst kind of monster isn't a monster at all
But a human, the worst kind of them all

Snow White did not eat the poisoned apple, never ruled a kingdom.
She instead got judged everyday for living in a house with seven men,
not marrying any of them nor having any children of her own.
"What good is this woman for", they say.

Aurora did not ***** her finger on a needle, never met Prince Charming.
She instead spent her days alone, for everyone grew too envious of her beauty,
and had become believers that no one person can be as kind while being so beautiful, they did not want to befriend her.
"She's too good to be true, drop the nice girl attitude", they say.

Alice did not make it to Wonderland, never met Mad Hatter nor The White Rabbit nor The Red Queen
She instead got locked up for having too much creativity and imagination
"She's making so much discovery, girls are for household chores", they say.

Mulan never made it to the war, never won a battle for China.
She instead was forced to live a life she did not want to, marry someone she does not want to, often told that tradition always comes first.
"She's supposed to follow and respect tradition, to do otherwise will be disrespecting her family", they say.

Belle did not turn the beast back into a prince, never married him.
She instead had too many people stopped her from being with who she wanted to be with and who she wanted to be, for they also took all her books away.
"She's too smart for a girl and the beast is too ugly to deserve her beauty", they say.

Ariel did not get her legs back, never really found a home.
She instead spent her entire life being ridiculed for looking different than the rest of them; often laughed at for having distinguishing features.
"She's too odd, she's too weird to hang out with, what would people think", they say.

Rapunzel never made it out of the tower, never had a chance to chase her dreams.
She instead was forced to stay up for people have always told her she won't make it anyway.
"She's too naive for this world, her ideals are just impossible", they say.

And on and on it goes, until they break their every bones.
Until they have rewritten each and every fairy tale.
With so much animosity,  how to find a happily ever after?

One two three four
How many slaps more?

Five six seven eight
Are my bruises enough yet?

Nine ten eleven
Keep it quiet, do not comment

Twelve thirteen
Does he have to hit me until fifteen?

Fourteen fifteen sixteen
Keep counting, no one is listening

Seventeen Eighteen
Violence and abuse, it kept coming

Nineteen Twenty
Defending myself, standing strongly

Keep counting 'til a hundred
No one believed what I said

Keep counting 'til another hundred
Maybe they'll listen when I'm dead

Some days you just want to give up on humanity.

But then again, I realized that the moment enough people start believing that humanity is beyong saving is the moment we really are doomed.

Isn’t that how evil triumphs?
By making you believe that there isn’t any good left in the world?
By making you feel that there is no way out of the darkness?
By dividing us into units of insecure people willing to tear each other apart?

Evil will only win if we let it.
Divided is what we will be, only if we let it.

Together, we can still save humanity.
Only together, so, shall we?

I want to be your yes in maybe
To be your constant in temporary
To be your color in monochromatic
To be your everything in empty

I want to be your warrior in battles
To be your music in silence
To be your light in darkness
To be your love in loneliness,
in happiness

Never let strangers crash your bed
Just because you cannot sleep alone
Never confuse love with loneliness

Never let comfort be misinterpreted with infatuation
Just because you are too insecure
Never confuse love with loneliness

Never let uniformity force you into compliance
Just because you are scared of not falling into society’s standards
Never confuse love with loneliness

Never let anyone tell you when you should be ready
Never let people dictate what your life should be
Never let society convince you that you aren’t worthy
Never let them make you feel any less happy

It’s always better to be certain
Never confuse love with loneliness

Sige lang
sanay na ako sa tunog ng mga paang papalayo
sa mga kamay na basta na lamang bumibitaw
sa mga pangako ng pagbabalik na walang katotohanan
sa mga bagay na hindi kayang panindigan

Sige lang

Baka hindi naman masama ang muling pagguho

Ang nanatili ay kalungkutan
Ang nanatili ay ang pait
Ang duda, ang sakit
Ang kutya, ang kirot

Wala nang mas sasakit pa
Sa pakiramdam ng pagkakulang
Sa pagiging hindi sapat
Sa lahat

Ang nanatili ay ang takot
Sa bukas na may muling pang-uusig
Sa mga pagkakamali
At muli, sa kakulangan

Ang nanatili ay wala
Dahil ang pinili ay hindi nanatili

May uri ng kalungkutan na mas malalim sa kirot
May uri ng sakit na hindi alam kung paano iibsan
Pilitin mang iiyak ay walang papatak na mga luha

Subukan man ang pagpalahaw ay walang lalabas na mga salita
May mas mataas na uri ng kalungkutan
At ito ang pinaka-ayoko sa lahat

Matagal ko nang napagtanto na hindi tayo itinadhana
At batid na sisikat at lulubog ang araw nang hindi tayo magkasama
Hindi kasabay ng bawat pagbilog ng buwan ang ating pagtanda
Pagkat ikaw at ako ay nagmahal at bigla,

Saka ka kumawala