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Parang ang lahat ng ilaw ay may kakumpitensya.
Habang ang lahat ng nagliliwanag
At kumikinang sa gabing mahiwaga’y
Nagtatagisan kung sino ba ang pinaka-nakasisilaw –
Kung sino ang pinakamaganda.

Ni isa sa kanila'y ayaw matabunan,
Ni ayaw nilang sila'y mahigitan
Kaya naman maging sa kanilang pagtulog,
Ay dinadalaw pa rin sila ng kani-kanilang kagustuhan.

Ni hindi makahimbing ang mga alitaptap
Na nagpapalamon sa nanunuksong alab.
At tila ba walang katapusan ang paglikha
Pagkat sa pagsapit ng panibagong umaga'y
Iba na naman ang isasabit
At magpapakitang gilas ng kanyang ningning.

Ngunit ang lahat sa kanila’y
May mga aninong umaakap patungo sa dilim.
Nagtatago sa lilim ng kani-kanilang lihim,
Walang mukhang maiguhit
Kundi tanging pangalang minsang naiukit
Upang panandaliang magbigay-kulay at magbigay-buhay.

At sabay-sabay silang manghihina;
Maghihikahos na daig pa ang nanlilimos ng lakas –
Ng liwanag, ng kasiguraduhang maari pa silang bumangon.
At mahahandugan pa ng pangalawang pagkakataon.

Ngunit sa kabila ng kanilang paghihikahos,
Ay kusang mamamatay ang kanilang mga apoy
Na minsang sinindihan ngunit niyurakan
Ng sarili nilang mga apoy.

A pearl mansion, three stories tall
Soaring on a halcyon hill.
A stretched view to read the world.
A throne with riches to fill.

The comfort of a swain.
But carnality in silence
An everlasting reserve of cake.
A bottomless appetite in defiance.

A quail in a cage, the keys in her hand.
To pluck the plume languidly.
A daffodil to determine fate:
“I love him. I love him not.”

To spoil their fly,
To reap their fall.
Their loyalty hazily sewn
In grounds of her royal hall.

Heels encased in crystals of tears.
To lien their names
And shine her shoes
Perched high on a golden bluff.

To shutter her windows
On cloudy days.
To be a star in the night
Despite the moon’s wane.

Eternal seasons of the self.
To watch feathers move
Without the burden of wind.
The quietude of stillness but to fill the void.

To reign solely as a dreary majesty.
To kiss and then walk astray.
Or perhaps earnest denial
To pacify the pain.

Power...  
the power of health bureaucrats  
has never been more
greatly exercised
since the advent of the
pandemic in our
daily lives

Control...
governments have taken
full control
by which they can stop
us from freely partaking
in an outside stroll

Greed...
big phrama being granted
exclusive rights
to sell millions of jabs
world wide  
thereby excluding other
forms of treatment

oh yes
power control and greed
in these recent times
have become
the cardinal creed

My sweet release so sad and dark,
Was the start of the black fire that tiny spark,
Ignite my once weak soul,
The fire that burns me is what makes me whole,
I have become the pain,
My soul is no longer free to stain,
I am Greed,
I am Lust,
I am Hunger,
I am Malice,
I am Hate,
I am Wrath,
I am Envy,
I am Sorrow,
I take it all I breathe it in,
I am it and it is now within,
My soul shakes at what I have become,
But its now all said and done,
The monster I am now all may fear,
Till the day I die and disappear...