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.

Banti (ban-tee)
Such a odd name
But the name I called him
Him.
My beloved grandfather
The man who pushed me to do my best but without the pressure
The man who was always there
The man who put family above anything else
The man who was the easiest person to talk to
My grandfather
Gone.
Leaving behind the people who needed him
Leaving behind his family
Leaving behind the pain that he had to push through
Selfish.
Selfish is what I am
He was in pain and sick
He had  a whistle because he couldn't get up
This whistle is all I have left
He made his mark
A great mark
A mark that will forever stay with everyone that knew him
A mark that left his dog depressed for days without eating
A mark that left many crying for days
Gone.
Whistle.
Mark.
Keywords that tell his story in my words.
His story.
My words.
Banti
My grandfather…..
“He loved his family above all else.”  (quote from his obituary)

At kumawala ako sa panahon
Ako
Hawak ang camera
Pagkatapos kunan ng letrato
Ang pamilya
Sa lumang bahay
Na unti unting ginigiba
Nang mga elemento

Sino ba ako?
Sino itong mga kasama ko?

Nasa dulong kanan
Ang aking tinatawag na Ina
Naka puting T shirt
At itim na pantalon
Malaki Ang ngiti
Pero tila may tinatago
Sa likod ng mga mata

Nasa dulong kaliwa
Ang aking tinatawag na Tito
Bitbit ang kanyang Dachshund
Ang anak ay
Hindi imbitado sa handa
Yumaman sa pagtatrabaho
Sa Estados Unidos

Sa Gitna
Ang aking tinatawag na Lola
Hindi na ngumiti
Ubos na ang mga araw
Kung saan siya'y napapangiti
May sugat na hindi na gumagaling
Dahil sa Diabetes

Nakapaligid Ang iba
Mga pinsan, Tito at Tita
Makukulay ang suot
Maiingay at matatakaw
Bata at matanda

Lahat ng ito
Kasama ako
Nanggaling sa iisang matris
Mula bata hanggang pagtanda
Nakipagsalamuha, naglaruan, naglakihan, nagmahalan, nag awayan...
Ito kami
Ito ako

Ano ang ibig sabihin nitong lahat?

Nakatitig ako sa letrato
Habang natunaw ang madla
Maya't maya ay uuwi na
Sa kani-kanilang tahanan
Iisa ang pinanggalingan
Saan ang patutunguhan?

Sino ba ako?
Sino itong mga nasa letrato?

Ako ay may ina
Ang aking ina ay may ina rin
At ang ina ay may ina rin
At ang ina ng ina ay may ina rin
At ang ina ng ina...

Katabi ng aking Tito
Ang panganay na pinsan
Muntik nang mamatay sa dengue
Noong kabataan
Naghahanap na ng trabaho
Naghahanap na rin ng girlfriend

Bawat isa ay may pangarap
May iba't ibang Diyos
May iba't ibang lengguwahe

Ako
Ang tagakuha ng letrato
Sino ba ako?
Miyembro ng isang pamilya
Estudyante, kapatid, anak, pinsan, pamangkin, kaklase, kalahi
Tagasulat ng tula na ito
Tagakuwento ng mga nakalimutan at  makakalimutan
Tagapagmahal ng mga taong pwedeng mahalin