“you are so skinny.”
and beautiful.
and happy.
and full of life, with two stars instead of eyes.
but you can only say,
“you are so skinny.”
you only see my bones,
my thinner thighs.
but look at me.
see me.
see how my soul has grown so much it doesn’t fit in my body,
look at the light in my heart,
at the words written in my soul,
look beyond my skin.
look at me,
look at me and tell me
that my smile is brighter than the sun,
that i look happy,
that i've changed,
that i've blossomed.
there are so many things you could say
but you only say,
“you are so skinny.”

He was a champion boxer
turned alcoholic
who wandered

east and west
on the town’s
railroad tracks

until death;

after his funeral
his wife spent
her days knitting

and thumbing through
newspaper clippings
awaiting her husband’s

return.

Every morning she awoke
as he fetched cups and bowls

from the cabinet, the sounds
were gentle awakenings, like

sparrows hopping across
a window sill; oh,  so, still

and quiet the home
became.

stop swimming
in oceans of shame,
of guilt, of regret.
let grace be your lighthouse
and swim to its shore.
let yesterday drown
in the sea of forgetfulness
and let go.
the past is not yours.

one day
we will be whole
but until then
we’ll keep fighting,
we’ll take one day at a time
we will laugh and we’ll cry
and we will learn to take our walls down
we’ll be a lighthouse to each other
and carry one another through the night
we’ll see the sun rise
and we’ll find the courage to try again
the waves might try to drown us
but promise me
you won’t sink

All the silence does not mean
You are alone,
It is the world waiting for you
To listen;
And in the darkness you are
Found by the light
Of your hope.

And in the tears of your
Pain you are born,
There you become stronger
And it creates order.

Pick up your flesh as your spirit
Lifts,
And speak your happiness
As if the tip of your tongue
Was the mountain's peak
Speaking at the sky,
The burden is a caged bird
And only the conscious can set
It free.
And sing to yourself so that
You know you are never alone
In your body.

Know that your crazy is beautiful
Because it makes you YOU,
Wear your skin like
Your cozy blanket and cuddle
In the warmth of yourself.
     You are not broken,
But scattered like the night
With pieces like stars shining,
    Open your pain and yourself
To the wound of the world and heal
Whatever you choose.

Go ahead
Sit with your ignorant comfort blanket
Of expected
Respected
And protected
Male privilege,
And try to tell me we are weak.
Try to tell me that the women who climb mountains of misogyny,
Beaten down repeatedly,
And still stand to scream 'we shall not be silenced'
Have not earnt the right to speak.

You have no idea,
Just what it means to be a woman.

Kung ikaw ay isang senador,  ano ang hakbang mo
Paano mo aalamin para malaman ang totoo
At kung alam mo na, isisiwalat mo ba ito
Kung ang madidiin ay isang kaibigan mo

Kung ikaw ay isang mambabatas,  ano kaya ang gagawin
Kapag nalaman ang totoo,  paano ito sasabihin
Kung ang kaibigan o pamilya ang siya namang madidiin
O patutunayan **** ang batas ay nababaluktot mandin

Kung ikaw ay isang mamahayag,  paano ka magsasalita
Doon ka ba sa totoo o kung saan ka may mahihita
Lalo na kung nais mo ring sumikat sa pagbabalita
Basta ba may narinig ka'y isisiwalat mo sa madla

Kung ikaw ay isang pari o kaya'y pastor ng simbahan
Ang puso mo ba ay malapit sa taong naghandog sa 'yong kawan
Utang na loob mo ba ang iyong isasaalang-alang
Dahil ang kawan na hawak mo ay kaniyang natulungan

Paano mo ihahayag kung ikaw ay isang ****
Sa mga kabataang sa harap mo'y nakaupo
Naghihintay ng liwanag,  ng dunong na isusubo
Kung ano ba ang nais mo sa kanila'y ituturo

Kung ikaw ang presidente,  makakaya mo bang lahat
Ang sugpuin ang problemang sa nuno pa natin nag-ugat
Ibababa mo na lang ba ang ngalan ng Pilipinas
Upang laging mayrong tulong sa ibang bansang ngayo'y sikat

Kung ikaw na karaniwang mamamayan na tulad ko
Nag-iisip,  nangangarap ng mabuti sa bayan mo
Ang makita sa 'sang sulyap, paniniwalaan ba ito
O pag-aaralang mabuti kung totoo ang narinig mo

Tayong lahat ay malaya,  malaya kang magpahayag
Malaya kang maniwala kung kanino ka mahahabag
Kung kanino magagalit, kung sino ang nililiyag
Ngunit isipin mo sana ang bukas ng ating mga anak.