Isa kang manunula na karapat-dapat
magmahal at maging masaya.
Isa kang tula
Na may angking ganda
Na minsan ay hindi maintindihan
Kung hindi nilalaan ang oras upang pag-isipan

Minsan pinupuna ng iba
Dahil hindi sila nito pinapasaya
Hindi nila alam
Paano mahalin ang tula
Tanggapin ang lahat ng tayutay at salita nito
Na hindi na kailangan ng kapalit o salitang panibago

Wag kang makinig sa kanila
Ikaw ang tula at manunula
Ikaw ang may hawak ng sarili **** istorya
Ikaw ang magdedesisyon sa bawat salita, linya o stanza
Yakapin mo ang sarili **** ganda
Hindi mo kailangang patunayan ang sarili mo sa iba

Ako’y tanging nagbabasa lamang
Nagmamahal at nagsusuporta
Kung kakailanganin **** humiram ng ilang salita mula sa akin
Wag kang magdalawang-isip na ako’y kausapin
Alam kong balang-araw, malayo ang iyong mararating
Kung hindi ka naniniwala, magtiwala ka lamang sa akin

Ilang buwang pumatak ang pawis at luha
Nagsunog ng kilay sa madaling umaga
Kumuha ng mga pagsusulit
Susi sa pagkamit ng mga pangarap

Sa tagal ng paghintay
Lumabas ang mga resulta
May natuwa sa tagumpay
At ibang binati ng lumbay

Hindi ko man alam ang eksaktong nararamdaman
Tiyak na hindi ito ang katapusan
Hindi ito hatol sa iyong kinabukasan
Malayo pa tayo sa dulo

Patuloy pa rin ang buhay
Iikot pa rin ang mundo
Na grabe kung ito'y mapaglaro
Ang tanging permanente ay pagbabago

Sa iyong paglakbay
Hindi maipapangakong
Makararating sa destinasyon nang walang galos
Ngunit hihilom din ang ano mang sugat

Hindi rin garantisadong laging may ilaw sa daan
Sa kalyeng lalakaran
Baka kailanganing mangapa ka sa dilim
Sa pag-abot ng mga tala

Alin mang landas ang piliing tahakin, pinangarap mo man o hindi
Naniniwala akong mahahanap din ng iyong mga paa
Ang landas patungo sa iyong destinasyon
Kung saan ika'y liligaya

Kung maligaw ka man ay 'wag mangamba
Mahahanap mo rin ang tamang direksyon
Mag-ingat ka sa iyong paglakbay, kaibigan
Padayon!

Matagal-tagal na ang nakalipas mula sa huling beses kong magsulat ng tula
Pag sinabi kong matagal, ang ibig kong sabihin
Ay ilang araw na ang nakalipas
Nang hindi ako nakabubuo ng tula
Nasanay kasi akong halos araw-araw akong may naisusulat
Kung di man buong tula
Kahit ilan mang linya
Nasanay kasi akong lahat ng aking nakikita
Ay ginagamit kong inspirasyon
Sa pagbangon
Sa paghugas ng pinggan
Sa pagkain ng hapunan
Sa pagsampay ng labada
Hanggang sa pagpikit ng mga mata
Hindi ako nauubusan
Ng salitang nais isulat o ibigkas
Ngunit sa mga nakaraang araw
Ay hindi ko yun naramdaman
Pareho lang naman ang kaganapan
Pero tila nawala ang aking mga salita
Pareho lang naman ang aking ginagawa?
Bakit nawala bigla ang aking pagiging manunula?
Ang pagbangon ay nanatiling karaniwan
Hanggang pagpikit nang mata
Wala namang mahalagang kasulat-sulat ng tula
Hindi ko mawari
Kung ano ang nangyari
Hindi ko matukoy
Katamaran ba ito? Pagod? Antok? Ano ba itong nararamdaman ko?
Hindi ko matukoy
Kasi wala akong maramdaman
Alam mo yung pakiramdam ng paang manhid?
Aba syempre hindi, kasi wala naman itong nararamdaman.
Sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam
Kung ano ang punto ng tulang ito
Hindi ko alam kung ano ang pinagsasasabi ko
Sa simula hanggang dulo
Pero kahit papaano
Mabuti at nakapagsulat muli ako

Inihahalintulad nila ang katawan ng tao
Sa templo
Sagrado
Dapat ingatan
Sang-ayon ako
Hindi ba iyon ang dahilan
Kung bakit ika’y niluluhuran
Sinasamba
Kung makasalanan man ang gawin ito
Kusa ko nang iaalay
Ipagpapaubaya
Ang kaluluwa
Sa kaibuturan ng impyerno

Sa unang tingin, mabibighani
Iisiping napakaswerte
Tila kasingsaya ng mga tumaya
At nanalo sa lotto
Nakapipigil-hininga ang ganda
Imbis na pumikit upang manalangin
Na magkatotoo ang hiling
Pilit na dinilat ang mga mata
Sa pag-asang
Masulit ang bawat segundong
Nariyan pa
At maaaring masilayan
Tala ang tawag ng iba sa kanya
Tawag ko naman ay bulalakaw
Sa unang tingin pa lamang
Kinatatakutan na ang paglisan
Dahil ang mga bagay
Na nakapagbibigay ng ligaya
Madalas ay nawawala

Pilitin man ang dumilat
Hanggang hindi na kaya ng mga mata
Kinailangang pumikit
Ilang segundo lang, isang saglit
Pagmulat ng mga mata
Nawala ka na
Napunta sa lugar na hindi ko na mararating
Hindi na maabot
Pagmulat ng mga mata sa umaga
Bigla akong nagtaka
Mahal ko, saan ka nagpunta?
Kung di ba ako pumikit
Hindi ka rin mawawala?

Naririto lang ako, naghihintay
Kahit abutin ng dekada
O ilang taon
Umaasa pa rin ng pagkakataong
Masilayan ka muli
Kahit pa ika'y
Isang bulalakaw

A spark. A flame.
The crackling of fire on wood, whispering your name.
The fire inside me calling out.
Leaving no room for any doubt.
I am sure of what I want.

I want the world to remember me.
I want to live on in people's memory.
This makes me happy.
My heart was set aflame.
This isn't just a hobby.

If you sense my fire about to die out,
Would you grab a candle
To help keep my light?
At least, for another night.
I may be bound to a life of darkness, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

Kapag sinabi ko ang panghalip na “siya”
Hindi malalaman kung babae o lalaki ang tinutukoy
Mahal kong wika
Tanging panangga
Ang nagtatago ng sikreto

Kaya kitang gawan ng tula
Walang makaaalam ng lihim na tinatago

I always hated the scorching heat
Summer always brought
I could never escape it

The undesirable feeling
That came along
Was the kind of warmth

That was too warm
And uncomfortable
As the heat engulfed my body

In an embrace
I could not free myself from
Not allowing me to function

Travelling the span of my entire body
Like critters all over my skin
Leaving me soaked in sweat

You were the cool breeze
That pressed against my forehead
An angel passing through

In this free trial of hell
I don’t know if you’ll leave
Seconds after arrival

But I thank you
All the same
For the comfort you bring

At least
For a little while
I had a taste of heaven

I underestimated the power of poetry
When I was a child
I thought poetry meant having lines that rhymed
When I grew up
I realized poetry had more to it than rhymes

There was raw emotion in poetry
There were moments when prose would never suffice
When you wanted to pour your heart out
But prose would not allow it
Somehow the reins loosen
The stanzas come into being
Like how water spills from overflowing dams
Crashing
Its release obviously long overdue

But finally
The water level has become stable
The quiet has returned
The heart has bounced back to its usual rhythm
After extracting all the plaque within
After encasing all worries in words, in stanzas, in poems
Peace at last
But we know that calm simply means that another storm is yet to arrive

Another poem is yet to be written
But until then, goodbye for now, old friend
Until we meet again

It took so long
For my house to be built
I lay the foundation
Of course I couldn't do it
If I was alone
I sought help from others
Called my entire neighborhood
To lend a hand
To put up the pillars
As well as the walls
To strengthen my home
Make it my own
I put up a roof
To protect me from the rain

But some days just come
When the droplets penetrate
The roof is not enough
To shelter me
Some days just come
When a match can set my home on fire
A careless remark
A hateful comment
Swiftly burning
The home I carefully built

It will take some time
To mend what is broken
Or rebuild my home
From the ground to the top
But I never abandon it
I never give up

Words at the tip of my tongue
At the nib of my pen
Refusing to step outside
And see the light of day
I nudge them a little
Encourage them to see the world
They don't have to be perfect,
They just need to be my vessel
My messenger
To contain and carry my thoughts
I just need someone
Or even something else to know

I don't force them outside
If they refuse to obey
I just **** them gently
Day by day
A scribble at a time
Until the words tumble out
Ready to come outside
Each step easier than the last
Tripping less often than they used to

Maybe on some days
The words become more stubborn
Revert back to their old ways
Refusing to be written
But it's alright
They just need a break
Give them some time
And they'll get back to their groove
Words dancing on paper
In perfect harmony
In sync with the rhythm
Of what my heart
Wants the world to read

Here we go again
Gray clouds following us
Odd, isn't it? Quite cloudy
But without a drop of rain
Drops gathering in the clouds
Clouds barely keeping it together

Until the day it pours
Maybe when the rain comes
The sun would shine again
A rainbow would appear
The frown would vanish
A smile will light up our faces

As of now
There is a 100% chance
The rain will come
And so will the sunshine and all that comes afterwards

As you read these words
You may be busy
At war with your drowsy eyelids
Struggling to hold them up
Like Atlas carrying the Earth on his shoulders
Its heavy weight making you want to surrender control
And allow them to drop down

You may be startled by the overwhelming brightness
From being accustomed to the dark
Never fear
You'll get used to it eventually
And find the brightness comforting rather than blinding
Drawn like a moth to a flame

It's time to wake up, sleepyhead
Today is another day
For you to conquer
You decide what will become of this day
And the next
And the one after that as well
For as long as the sky is up
And the sun still shines every morning
Each day is yours for the taking
Seize it
Don’t let anyone take it away

They said the world would end in the year 2012
And called it doomsday
They said that the sky would collapse on itself
That humankind’s existence would end
But 2012 came and life went on
I don’t know if mankind is cursed or blessed to have lived this long
Cursed to have seen man’s demise
Cursed to have witnessed the beauty of nature
As it fades away, one forest at a time
Or blessed to have received many chances
To right past wrongs
Blessed to always receive forgiveness
Without constant improvement
Sometimes I wonder
Will 2012 come 8 years later?

There are some things
Poetry can express
That prose cannot

Some things
just don't belong in sentences
They simply do not

Pour your words out
In a roundabout
kind of way

When it comes to poetry
All of that
Is okay

When a good poem passes by
Reel it in
Do not let go