It's not your fault
You were created
Made for the rain
Given the hammer
That brings the gold
Use it for the dream
Days will turn to fire
You are burning now
Will you feel the heat
Before it it's too late?


© MJL 2021

The word “Emergency”
in the acronym ER
sure brings about raw emotion
and pressed awareness

You are further removed, now
both in mental and physical states
The doctor was worried
What comes next?

My mind glosses over possibilities
Too much trauma undertaken
A mask to extract?
Or crisis, true?

What if the end is near?
Rarely do we see it coming
The tears of loss and relief
are all the same to gravity

I’d think of the greatness
you could’ve become
Biting my tongue, speaking instead of
the lives you did touch

Life is fleeting
Worrying offers illusory action
Gratitude is infinite
Connection holds the key

100221

Nauuna pa tayo sa mga alitaptap
Sa paggayak patungo sa dilim,
At doon sa papag ay sabay-sabay nating iitiklop
Ang ating mga paang napuno na ng alikabok
Para lamang mag-“indian sit.”

Ang ating mga halakhaka’y
Nagmistulang musikang humihele
Sa pandinig ng ating mga magulang
At ito’y mangingibabaw sa liblib na tahanang
Puno ng pagmamahal at pagmamalasakit.

Tunay ngang payak ang ating pamumuhay —
Tayo’y magsisilapit sa ginagawang liwanag ni Itay
Mag-uunahan na parang sigurado na kung sino ang taya,
Kung sino ang mag-aabot ng gas o posporo
Sa tuwing naisasambit ang mga salitang, “Nak, paabot.”

Nais sana nating hindi kumurap
Pagkat tayo’y nakatututok habang pinagmamasdan
Ang nagmimitsa’t nagniningas na apoy.
At ito ang liwanag na aasahan nating
Magbubuklod sa atin papalayo sa dilim
At magkukulob sa nasasakupan
Ng sinag ng ating mga paningin.

Hindi na natin alintana
Ang init na dumarampi sa ating mga balat
At tayo’y mapupuno ng pagkamangha
Sa liwanag na itinuring nating mahiwaga —
Mahiwaga sa ating mga matang
Walang ibang nais kundi magliwanag na.

Hindi na rin natin namalayan ang bawat segundong lumilipas,
Maging ang mga dahong kumukupas
Sa paghimlay nito sa ating mga paanan.
Panahon ay dumaraan ngunit hindi nang palihim;
At panahon din ang susukli
Sa mga alaalang nais nating manatili.

It isn't the quality of the words that measure truth
it's the men we all see with such clear eyes
Two brothers trapped in a pitched battle
echoes of their roots displayed in a contest of wills
two brothers follow the same dream
two brothers dance the same songs
We can never stop being who we are
we can grow thriving under a perfect sun
but our roots forever spread from the single source
our birthplace and home
Two brothers trapped in a pitched battle
find peace at last in each others truth
we are the same inside the dream
we are fellow travelers
whose nature it is to find hope and love
in the cloudiest of days

~
Hark!
He knocks.
Time, it's time,
the Kuroi Jukai within me.

Finding an unordinary
drifting off to sleep point,
a hollowed-out spot,
where I can let
God dream for me.

Whistles in the wind,
in lullaby the sky and sea
seem to trade places,
bending around me
as vertical blanketed surges.

My carcass is a colonization (of bones)
for my dearly departed ones,
forbearers of migration,
seeking endless sea,
until like them,
I settle upon
their ancestral shore.
~

A gathering of souls,
A collision of culture
A place of safety
Where voices are heard

As I sit, sharing in the wealth of life
Sharing in the stories
I wonder how we all got here
How we all came to be this great family
Not bound by blood, but belief
In one another

Throughout the days gone by
And the obstacles we have all faced
Through the hardships,
Through the happiest of days,
I am here among them
Together we stand
Unified, as one

We all come from different places
All to remain here
With those we hold most dear
Here, this unity
Is our little community

- Jay M
September 26th, 2021

You might think home is just a house
made of walls and beams.
But for me, home is a place
where you can be yourself.
It is the place of confidence.

Home is the place where you can put
your mask off and show everyone
who you really are.
You are not scared to get judge by
the people around you because
you exactly know that they love
and accept you the way you are.

Home is in our hearts.

So, home is not just place with four walls and a roof on top. Home is a place where i feel safe. Its the place where i feel loved and accepted by my family, friends or lover.

Look on me dearly:
your stolen sullied sullen

daughter. I could dig you up
to hold your bones but

want only to wash myself
away, like white foam

from the seashore.
If I burn what is buried,

is it cremation
or disintegration? You would fly

ashes in the wind, like a wish
given

lift, like an altar of lit
incense.

Think of learning of your blood:
yellow skin and rice paddies

and great-great-great-great-granddaddy
grey for the Confederacy.

Do two halves not one whole
soul make? I take

a breath
and leave it

free.