Words
Upon words
Upon words
Upon
Words

Intertwined
Placed beside
Complimented, no
Meshed
With

Actions

That don't quite match up

I knock on his door
With a basket in hand
A celebration
A feast
Enough for two
Or three or more

But just for us
Because this is a momentous occasion

He let's the door creak
Gloom in his eyes
For he has stayed up the whole night
In pain
In disbelief

But I come to him with a picnic
With a celebration

I lead him to the highest hill
It takes us awhile
yet when we reach it
He breathes in fresh air

And I shout for joy
He just smiles

We are here now having a picnic
a feast for victors

The wind blows so softly
Up here
And I feel it through my hair
He does too on his scalp

I notice him
He looks so different, his frame smaller
But his spirit stronger than ever

I see him take a deep breath
I see him take in the view
I see him take a sandwich
I see him

I propose a toast while his hand quivers
'here is to you and your victory! You've come so far..'

He only assures me with a nod
But that's okay,
He's here with me
He made it.

Lilingon-lingon upang makakuha
Ng isang sulyap, isang silip
Hanggang sa tinalikuran mo na ng
Tuluyan
Ang kalayaan
At hinayaan mo ang sarili mo
Na bumalik
Sa selda na iyong pinanggalingan, nakasanayan

Pero hintay, hinto!
Hindi kita papayagan na magkaganito
Hayaan mo na yakapin kita ng mahigpit
At pawiin ang mga luha sa iyong pisngi
Wala akong mga karanasan at payo na pwedeng ibahagi
Pero susubukan ko na
Baliktarin ang iyong simangot sa isang ngiti
Makatulungan sana nang kahit kaunti
Sa mga sugat mo na humahapdi

Ilagay mo ang iyong mga kamay
Sa akin
Ikaw ay aking hahawakan,
Hinding-hindi ka bibitawan
Ikaw ay sasamahan lakarin
Ang nakatakdang landas
Na kailangan **** tahakin
Sa dami ng mga lubak at lindol
Siguradong tayo'y madadapa rin
Pero huwag mo na 'yun isipin
Kasi anumang mangyari
Kahit kailan, kahit saan
**Ikaw ay aking iibigin

And the worst kind of reminder
Is not in the reactions of the people
Or the lack of

It is not in the soil that you stand on
For over time it will come
Back. Renewed
Material

It is not in the written
Down words
Even the ones
etched in stone

Instead,
It is in the the souls of eternity
The way beyond
The lives of the future generations

Who will reap our complacency

Grandfather's whistle
Blew down the chipped clock,
Face in shock, broken glass.

Glasses. He was blind to its sound,
Faintly tinged, his arm and red,
Cheeks sallow like a hound's.

He stood there frozen:
Shoulders taut and brazen
But eyelids twitching,

Fingers quivering
As he balled his hand into a fist.

i packed up the city
into three boxes
and headed for
the suburbs
i'm trading street lamps
for christmas lights
and coffee for green tea,
lust for love and so on