Noong Nobyembre 8 2016, magandang araw ang aking naranasan. Lahat ng tao ay naging mabait sa akin, masaya ang mga pangyayari at nakangiti ako buong araw. Nang sumapit ang hapon at ako ay pauwi na galing sa eskwelahan, mayroong ibinalita sa akin ang aking ina. At dahil sa balita na iyon, nasira ang aking mabuting araw, at napalitan ng pagiging miserable. Isang pangyayari na tumatak sa isip ng madaming Pilipino,  isang pangyayari na naghimok sa akin upang magsalita at lumaban. Noong Nobyembre 8 2016, pinayagang ilibing ang dating presidente at diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos sa libingan ng mga bayani.


          Bayani ba si Marcos? Siya ay naging presidente ng Pilipinas sa loob ng dalawampu’t isang taon. Alam nating lahat ang kanyang mga nagawa, dahil sa kanya mayroong NLEX, at iba pang mga imprastraktura at gusali. One is to one ang peso at dolyar noong kanyang panahon. Madami siyang nagawa para sa ating bansa. At sabi nga ng maraming Pilipino, ginawa niyang mayaman ang Pilipinas. Pero ano nga ba ang katotohanan? Noong ako ay bata, nasa isip ko rin na si Marcos ay naging magaling na Presidente at pinaganda niya ang Pilipinas. Pero nang ako ay tumanda, nalaman ko ang mga katotohanan na ayaw tanggapin ng karamihan. Bago pa maging presidente si Marcos, mayroon ng malaking oportunidad na magkaroon ang Pilipinas ng economic bloom, at yuon ay dahil sa administrasyon ng mga dating Presidenteng si Magsaysay at Macapagal. Kung mayroong dapat ikredito kay Marcos yuon ay ang pagpapayag niya ng paghiram ng malaki at ang ginawa niyang malalaking utang sa mga dayuhan na dapat kanyang gamitin para sa industrialization at pagpapaunlad. Ngunit sinayang ng rehimeng Marcos ang lahat ng perang ito sa pamamagitan cronyism at katiwalian. Ang hindi alam ng nakakaramihan ay isa siyang kurakot na lider, at ang kanyang mga utang ay babayaran natin magpahanggang sa taong 2025. Oo, madami siyang naipatayong mga imprastraktura at may mga nagawa siya sa bansa, pero hindi ba galing sa mga Pilipino ang pera na iyon? Nasa kapangyarihan siya sa loob ng dalawampu’t isang taon, malamang sa malamang ay madami siyang magagawa. At hindi ba responsibilidad iyon ng isang presidente? Na paglingkuran ang bansa? Bakit kailangang isumbat iyon? Ang daming bagay na hindi alam ng mga Pilipino at lubos na nakalulungkot ito, ang mas nakakalungkot pa ay ang mga nakalimot sa Martial Law. Pinili ng mga tao na kalimutan ang mga totoong bayani, na nagbuwis ng buhay nila para sa bansa na ito. Nakalimutan nila ang mga libo libong tao na namatay at nasaktan. Nakalimutan nila ang dami ng dugo, at sakit na dinanas ng Pilipino noong panahon ng Martial Law. Ang demokrasyang binura ng administrasyong Marcos ay pilit na kinalimutan ng mga mamamayan ngayon dahil sa kadahilanan na ginawa naman nitong maganda ang bansa. Ang kalayaan na ipinaglaban ng mga Pilipino noon, ang kalayaan na dahilan upang makapagsulat ako ngayon, ay hinding hindi ko makakalimutan. Mga perang ninakaw,  mga Pilipinong lumaban pero namatay at nasaktan, mga karapatan na nayurakan, gaanon nalang ba kadaling kalimutan? P167.636 bilyon na ninakaw, 3,264 na namatay, 34,000 na tinorture at 70,000 na nakulong. Hindi bayani si Marcos, at kahit kailan hindi siya magiging bayani.


       Ang pangyayaring ito ay isang malaking bahagi sa ating kasaysayan at bansa. Sinasabi nila na tayo ay mag move on at magpatawad, pero paano natin ito mabibigay kung wala namang nanghihingi nito? At wala sa kanila ang desisyon kung kailan tayo magbibigay ng tawad. Habang ang mga Pilipino ay pinatay ay ninakawan, ang pamilya niya ang nagsasaya dahil sa kanilang yaman at dahil sa pagiging bayani ni Marcos. Sa pangyayari na ito, parang nabura ang ating kasaysayan. Para nating kinalimutan lahat ng nangyari. “Buti pa si Marcos may bangkay.”, sabi ng isang pamilya na hindi pa nahahanap ang bangkay ng isang Martial Law victim. Paano tayo magmomove on sa isang pangyayari na hindi pa naman nagkakaroon ng maayos na wakas? Ito ay parang paglagay ng asin sa sugat na hindi pa naghihilom. Ang nangyayari sa ating bansa sa kasalukuyan, sa katunayan, ay sobrang nakakatakot. Nakikita ko na simula ito ng panibagong panahon na walang demokrasya at pagapak sa mga karapatan. Baka masyado tayong takot sa kasaysayan, pero hindi tayo takot na maulit ito. Pero hindi ako titigil, hindi dapat tayo tumigil, upang ipaglaban ang tama. Tayo ay magsalita, at lumaban para sa ating bansa. Huwag tayong susuko para makamit ang tunay na hustisya.  Hahayaan ba natin na maulit ang madilim na nakaraan? Hindi na muli.

*(k.b)

The man woke up.

He walked to his refrigerator hoping to find last nights left over veal, but he doesn't.
He thought maybe it's a sign veal is bad in the morning, so he made his coffee and sat down to watch the news.
Linda Sparoski was on talking about Gun rights.
"I kind've want a gun, but it probably wouldn't be the best idea."
He kept watching until he heard someone at the door.
Paranoid, he crept up to the peep hole.
Peering through he saw an elderly woman delivering what looked to be like a package.
"I wasn't expecting anything... **** it must **** to be her age"
He waited until the frail old woman made her way back to the UPS truck and drove away.
He went outside to pick up the box, only to find it very light. Much lighter than he expected.
On the outside scribbled in blue pen was "The man's name" so he knew it was for him.
He saw it was taped up pretty good, kind've how a child wraps a Christmas present.
He grabbed his kitchen knife.
"Scissors are like double knifes, except you don't need a cutting board."
He put the knife back and grabbed a pair of scissors.
"Scissors are ****** double knifes."
He put the scissors back and grabbed the knife.

When he returned to the box, he seemed to stare at the handwriting for quite some time.
He began to cut into the box.
On removal of the layers of scotch tape was a little note before the rest of the box could be open.
"Promise me?"
He was really confused now.
"I need more coffee"
Chugging his third cup, the man returns to the box.
Determined to open it.
He lifts the ***** keeping the pieces of cardboard box cube shaped, and begins to look inside.
The man sees photographs stacked on top of a few letters.
"Possibly something underneath."
As he dug through he saw a picture of himself dressed as Captain America on Halloween.
He tries remembering that Halloween but just can't quiet do it.
"I was never Cap.. "
He dug through more.
Found pictures of old beach houses he vaguely remembers, some pictures almost looked like a sonic drive through.
Stomach growl.
"Last nights quesadilla"
The man went to his fridge, with no luck of finding this cheesey goodness.
In fact his fridge was empty.
He doesn't remember it being empty.
He starts thinking about Halloween.
The man kicks the box under his coffee table, and stumbles to bed, even though it is only 6:47 pm.
Dreams of sand.
Dreams of sand.
Dreams of water.
Dreams of her.

The man woke up.

He heads to his coffee ***.
He has not made coffee yet.
He heads to his refrigerator to find last nights left over lasagna.
"When did I make that? 2 weeks-ago-ish?"
He does not find lasagna.
His coffee is done brewing.
He walks away without a cup to find the box.
The news was still on. Linda Sparracci was on talking about the man's town.
She said that the man's town was experiencing the worst drought since two thousand and sixteen.
"What year is it?"
The man tries to find a calendar but only finds twelve.
"So it could be 2025, 2026, 2028... Wait."
He deducted that it must be 2026, for this calendar had the most dates circled, and he has felt quite busy recently.
The man then fell.
When he came too he was on the couch.
It was snowing out.

Deciding it must be around December  time, he goes throughout his home looking for objects to wrap up and give to his family.
He finds a box.
The box has a note on the outside
"Promise me"
Without looking through the box, he wraps it up with what he can find.  
Thinking of where to send it, he thinks of the first address he can remember, presumably his parents house, and sends the box off.
"Captain America... "
The man decides to watch Duck Dynasty season 34 for the first time, without seeing the prior 33 seasons.
The man passes out.
Dreams of white.
Dreams of red.
Dreams of death.

The man woke up.

He walked to his refrigerator hoping to find last nights left over veal, but he doesn't.
He thought maybe it's a sign veal is bad in the morning, so he made his coffee and sat down to watch the news.
Linda Spurokik was on, talking about the new Captain America movie.
"I was Captain America once.."
The man gets up to feed his dog.
The man does not have a dog anymore.
The man sits down.
Halloween 3 comes on the television.
He remembers getting her roses, because she was mad he didn't want to go trick or treating.
They ending up going trick or treating anyway.
She didn't like the roses.
The man tries to imagine what Michael Meyers must've felt like.
Being cast so many times over because of his creepy plastic face.
"I bet it was really hard to find other work though..."
The man was unsettled with this thought and turned off the television.
With nothing to more to do, he crawls to bed, even though it is only 6:24 pm.
No dreams
Just blackness.

The man woke up.

He heard someone at the door.
Paranoid, he crept down the stairs to the window.
Peering through he saw a young man delivering what looked to be like a package.
"I wasn't expecting anything... **** it must **** to be that young in this day and age"
He waited until the man made his way back to the USPS truck and drove away.
He went outside to pick up the box, only to find it very light. Much lighter than he expected.
On the outside scribbled in blue pen was "The man's name" so he knew it was for him.
When he opens the box he finds a picture of himself dressed as Captain America and she was beside him.
"Even trying to look ugly she was beautiful."
The man begins to cry a bit.
Gently places the picture down, he digs through more.
He finds an old Valentine's Day card.
"Signed your's forever, love you so much"
The man puts the contents of the box back, and gently pushes it under the table.
He turns the television on and Linda Sadok is on talking about a fire.
"3 dead, 2 injured with 3rd degrees burns along 85% percent of their body"
The man states "****" and turns the television off.
"I'd rather be one of the three than one of the two"
The man grabs the last pack of tostitos he can find, and chows down for awhile.
The man dozes off.  

A few hours later the man awakes.
He house is quieter than normal, but he normally has all the washing machines running so he thinks "all good."
Walking to his refrigerator, he finds it filled with Mexican Taco Hot Pockets.
Not wanting to get fat, he rejects this refrigerator and demands a new one.
He does not get it.
Hot pocket.
He walks to his coffee table.
It is very long.
His box is gone.
Befuddled, he walks to his hallway to check under the door.
Upon opening the door, his house leads to another one of his houses.
It is the same house though, it's just his other one.
Walking to the refrigerator, he finds it filled with ingredients for fresh pesto and Texas toast.
Thinking maybe it would upset his stomach. He throws the fridge down his garbage disposal.
On returning to his living room, he sees a man.
This man is talking to the man about life.
Talking about how long could one go on for in the same space.  
This man tells the man, maybe you should **** yourself.
Get out.
The man has never liked suicide.
But given the preposterous conditions of his life, he thinks about it.
This man says a hand full of advil or a few too many sleeping pills could do it.
The man says no.
"I can't leave, I'm not done yet.
Then, this man asks what the man has not finished yet.
"I don't remember..."
This man tells the man, that he is not Captain America and disappears.
The man disagrees.
"Photo evidence"

The man wakes up.

He finds the contents of the box sprawled all over his chest.
He had fallen asleep on the couch.
He hears her say goodnight.
He says I love you.
There is no one there.
He crawls to bed, and it is 2:34 am.
He cannot sleep.
This man returns to him.
This man asks the man if he had finished what he wanted to finish.
The man says no.
This man asks why once more.
"She's still gone, i'm not letting go"
This man says the man already has.
The man rolls over in his bed.
This man says you've been done here for awhile.
The man pretends to be asleep,
motionless, yet awake for hours.

The sun never came up, because he didn't want it too.
The fridge was always empty, because he didn't want to eat.
The box would appear, because he wanted it too.
She was gone, because he knew she was gone.
He stayed, and kept resealing and opening that box. Day in day out.
Surviving healthy off of nothing at all.

He never left.

youve been alive for twenty-one years and youre just ******* worn out
you havent slept in twelve but thats okay right
because sleeping means the nightmares and youre already living one
you cant get out of your own mind and neither can he
and honey you grew up a soldier
didnt know a pipe dream from a semi-automatic
and he looks at you and says "you could have been a great machine"

it's june.
your ninety-six year old grandmother wraps her shaking fingers around your hand.
she's dying.
the doctors say she won't make it through the day.
you and your family gather around her bed like crows anxiously circling something from above.
waiting.
your grandmother reaches for your high school year book: ninth grade.
your stomach knots up, and you're not sure why.
silently she flips through the pages with her free hand,
the only sound being that from the oxygen flowing through her cannula.
suddenly she gasps,
and it scares you half to death because you know that she's already far more than halfway there herself,
her clammy fingers clench tighter around yours as she points to a picture on page 57.
everyone in the room looks down at the floor,
as if it is suddenly fascinating,
but you stare at her photo as your grandmother cries and says
"she was the one I was hoping you'd end up with"

it's july.
your grandmother has been gone for one month but you can't get the words she last spoke to you out of your mind.
ninth grade.
high school seems like an eternity ago -
homecoming and prom and then graduation -
you did all of these incredible things together.
but it wasn't enough for you.

it's august.
most people your age will soon be returning to school,
nearing the end of their masters by now.
you can't help but to picture her, smiling for her student ID photo and shuffling through the narrow aisles of an enormous school's book store,
piling her arms full of anything with a hardback and a spine that she can get her little hands on,
books, books, so many **** books -
who the hell's going to hold all of those **** books for her? -
she loved to read.
she loved to write.
you remember the day her first book was published, how she cried for hours and smiled for days,
enthralled with the knowledge that she was now an author.
you watched her sign books, you watched them sign checks,
but you knew she couldn't have cared less about their money. she didn't want it.
you remember all she wanted was for people to read her book. you remember her hunched over her laptop,
constantly updating the website that kept track of how many copies she'd sold.
you remember her signing your book.
all she wanted was for you to read it.
you remember that you never did.

it's september.
you never went back to college.
without her, it just wasn't right for you.
but still, you find yourself camped outside of the university you know she now attends,
looking at every face that exists the building and hoping to god that this one is her.
you wait for an hour,
picturing with giddy excitement the moment your eyes will meet. although there's a crowd of a hundred other bumbling college students you are positive
her eyes will instantly be drawn to yours.
you wait two hours.
and suddenly,
she's there, you see her,
god, after all this time you see her;
and she's still so **** beautiful it nearly blows your mind. you never knew one person could contain so much beauty.
just as you're about to sprint and sweep her off her feet,
you stop dead in your tracks.
the fellow who politely held the door open for the girl
who you realize is in fact no longer a girl
but a woman,
the woman who you used to love,
he takes the books from her hands and wraps his free arm tightly around her waist -
you remember her waist, her hips, her belly button, all the skin you touched and kissed a million times over,
he's touching her now as if
there was never anyone else
before.
you watch although it kills you
because it's simply impossible to turn and look away.
he pushes her bangs - had she always had bangs? - behind her ears and kisses her for what feels like a forever of its own,
and she smiles.
she never takes her eyes away from him.
she doesn't even see you standing there.

it's october.
you drink now, because it's the only way to forget.
you drive yourself near insane wondering how you ever let the love of your life slip right through your undeserving fingers.
you always knew you didn't deserve her.
you just never thought she would ever think the same.

it's november,
but the days seem to run together now.
weeks go by without any attention from you,
and this doesn't matter.
nothing matters.
you lost her.
you remember the first time you ever saw her,
you were fourteen years old.
it was january, but you were wearing shorts. the first thing she ever said to you was "why are you wearing shorts? don't you know it's winter?"
and suddenly, you didnt know.
you didn't know anything,
you didnt know it was winter or monday or 2:52 p.m,
you couldn't tell the sun from the moon or red from blue or anything that didn't have to do with her.
you stood there and you didn't say a word, because you didn't know how to do that either.
but she smiled, and she laughed,
and the sound was enough
to carry you all the way to this day
where you stand drunk,
alone,
without her.

He died in a sleep, yesterday morning,
unnoticed, without a warning,
quiet, like people die.

Now he doesn't need their spare change,
he doesn't need their promises
to sort this problem out
before 2025.

He doesn't need you now, London,
like you never needed him,
he won't bother you anymore,
you won't hear him again saying Please.

He doesn't need you, Westminster,
death solved his problems, not you.

He passed away in his sleep,
he now lies in a warm bed, smiling,
and angels bring him hot food.

But, he wasn't the first and the last,
there's many more out there in the cold

and every death of a homeless
is a little death of our Free World.


The poem was written after learning about the death of a homeless man in the tunnel near Westminster tube station in London.

It’s May 18th, 2022. I’m poised, alone, heart pounding, in front of my laptop, waiting for courage, my finger hovering over the return key, like a child hoping the timing of my keystroke will bring me luck.

I took this summer off - which drove my mom absolutely CrAzY. “You CAN’T!” she’d said last month, only to be overruled by my Grandmère. Now I’m home for summer break and tonight she’s flush with exasperation.

“You should have applied for a dean’s fellowship,” she said, her voice rising as she rubs her hands together, as if scrubbing for an operating room procedure, “and a summer research position!” She’s practically twirling with suppressed emotion.

I get why she’s upset. She only goes “deep end” when she's worried about my future. She knows what’s needed to get a medical school slot in 2025 like other moms know their favorite recipe - after all, she’s done this twice before.

Leong’s upstairs, avoiding this family scene. When I described my family expectations as “hustle culture,” to my roommates, they all understood - we’re that much alike.

Step (my stepfather) is trying to de-escalate and calm us (her) down. “Look,” he says, holding up his hands like someone talking down a gunman, “NEXT summer she’ll buckle down, get in more volunteer hours and get a dean’s research fellowship” he says, sliding his eyes to me. I nod “ok” almost imperceptibly. “It’s ok to start grinding sophomore year - that’s what I did.”

OOOO! She turned to him and if looks could ****, he would have exploded like someone in a Tarantino movie.

By some psychic grace my Grandmère chose that moment to call. Step and I fled the den like it were on fire, going our separate ways to halve the chance of being followed.

In my dark room, lit only by the light of my MacBook, a quiver runs through me, and I finally press return. My grades for Spring semester - and Freshman year come up. My eyes water and I relax back against my chair when I see “Dean's List.”

I smile to myself, and slowly, fiercely I clench my fist with a “YESS!" As I postulate my victorious reprieve.

Everybody, including me
Wanted the Wendy they had before
She does not exist anymore
I am not sure when she disappeared
Was it when she got T- *****
Or when her brain was sheared
Either time
---Either way
She is a different creature these days
It is hard to put in the past
Every July reminds me of the change
in my life that will forever last
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
To my change of personality
Drastic changes every seven years
who knows 2025
May be
The year I truly come alive!

July 14, 2004- T-*****
July 21, 2011- Temporal Lobe surgery 2018- diagnosed MCI memory loss
2025-----------
~~~~~••••~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~••••~~~~~
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
JOSHUA 1-9

Sent out
lent out
bent out of shape
once in the trap and
there'll be no escape.

Pared to the bone
parted from family
from friends
from the home
all alone
in the trap
life
is
crap
for the few who
don't get what to do.

Run.