minsa’y hindi magtutugma
mauuna ang kanan
mahuhuli ang kaliwa

pipiliting sumabay sa indak ng iyong katawan
umaasang hindi mo ako iiwan

sa dulo tayo ay magsasabay
sa pagpitik ng daliri
hanggang sa pagtaas ng kamay

matatapos ang araw na tayo’y magkasama
ang langit at kahel, tila nagbabaga

pinagmamasdan ang pagsikat ng buwan
sa iyong mga mata
nananatili ang katotohanang tahanan ka.

letting go
of familiar places

open roads
that were once mazes

we're on both sides
of the bench

does this sidewalk go on
or does it end?

munting salamin sa ‘yong mga mata
sarili ko’y nakikita
salitan sa paghinga
puso mo’y kinikilala

babagsak ang mga luha
isa isa’t dahan-dahan
malayang magtatampisaw
tuwing sasapit ang ulan

panahon ang kalaban
sa bawat kinabukasan
hindi mag-aalinlangan
hindi rin magkukulang

tahimik ang gabi
puso minsa’y humihikbi
sa pagtulog ikaw ang dalangin
nag-iisang hiling sa mga bituin

ikaw ang tanging dahilan
kahapon, ngayon at kailan man
pangarap kong tahanan
ikaw at ako sa iisang larawan

maglalayag sa hiwaga ng hiraya
simula sa sulok ng maharlika
hanggang sa dulo ng maginhawa
alapaap na bang maituturing itong kalsada?

humahawak, bumibitaw
magpupumiglas ngunit hindi aayaw
sanga’t daho’y sumasayaw
pusong puno’y sumisigaw

sigurado sa bawat yapak ng paa
ligaya sa kislap ng mga mata
bawat ngiti sa iyong pagtawa
langit ang makasama ka

babalik
tayong muli
sa maginhawa

there's
a whole world
in your tears

a garden
of withering flowers

a wave
of emotions

and a sepia-toned sunset.

animo'y bulak ang pagdampi
'sing lambot ng kumot sa gabi
sa likod ng mga labi'y nagkukubli
magkasingkahulugan na ba ang iyong luha at ngiti?

nalilito ang aking mga mata
bakit nananatiling blangko ang mga pahina?
hindi ba't ang bawat pagtatapos
ay panibago ring simula?

tila mga ligaw na paru-parong
tinutunton ang halimuyak mo
matagal na palang lumipas
may iba nang namamalagi dito

malimit nang lumangoy sa dagat ng alaala
hindi na rin lumiliko sa maling kalsada
ngunit bakit tinatanong sa hangin kung nasaan ka?
madalas pa rin palang ikaw ang ninanais makita.

i don’t want to live in your world
anymore

i don’t want to fill in
the spaces

between your fingers
and your hands

knowing they used to hold
a different man

Ikaw ang mga tala

Hindi.

Ikaw ang bulalakaw

Hindi.

Hindi ako sigurado

Mahal, walang sigurado

Ikaw ba ang langit?

Ikaw ba ang kalangitan?

Kalawakan?

Ikaw ba ang buong kalawakan?

Kukubli ba sa hagkan **** maligamgam?

Ngingiti ba sa pagsambit ng iyong pangalan?

Mahal, ikaw.

Oo, ikaw.

Ikaw ang lahat.

At ang lahat ay ikaw.

Woke up in the middle of the night
Few more hours 'til the morning light
Legs are freezing it's just too cold
Blanket in my bed, I don't want to unfold

I wonder how pretty you are when you sleep
And how you snug at night pulling your sheets
Never knew someone this deserving to keep
You're my island of light, my lamp on the streets

Pink skies bring back summer nights
Should've given you a bloom that's fresh and white
The thought of you's a night and day fright
You make my eyes dilate, no need for penlights

The spaces between your fingers are called folds
I call them home
Whispered your name from a distance
I didn’t know you were alone

Hold out your hand for me to reach
Take me to you world of chaos and bliss
Pieces of the past turned into ashes
Look at me one last time, my beautiful mess

Tears stream down my face
Frightened it’s you I can’t embrace
Shared a love like the ocean and waves
It’s always there but it always fades.

Can I write you a love song
Or a poem that speaks love
When you can’t see your worth
Or when you’re under the sky alone

Can I fill your lungs with air that never expires
Or maybe tell you that your silence
Opens a portal to a vast ocean
Teeming with trinkets of you and I

Should’ve held your hand
And watched my heart fell
You are a feeling of a new home
Is it too soon to tell?

How are you my love?
How entropic is my life?
The world brings too much chaos
And nothing but utter confusions

How do you emit quick flashes of light
With your scintillating eyes?
How do you make this black and white world of mine
See colors when our fingers intertwine?

How cruel is the world
And the forces between planets
That we have fallen
And still drifted apart?

How I wish you came from a primordial ooze
Of what I can have and what I can’t lose
You stand between the line
Of being a priority and and a choice

No, it does not take a while
The softness of your voice
Was never a cloying sweetness
To my ears it was a morning boost.

You are not the walls of my empty room
Nor the comfort of my blanket when I'm cold
Not the bed where I cry and sleep at night
Nor the brightness when I turn on the light

I have seen you in all the things I love and I don't
But all I ever wanted was for you to call me home
You are a collection of all the great things unseen
A familiar warmth, a place, a longing, a feeling.

Short bus trips going home
Quick glances in your eyes that glow
You reflect through the glass window
We’re still on the road but I feel home

If only our eyes could speak
Words would hide and hearts would seek
Not taking the risk to fall for it
Would be my greatest what if

Rock, paper, scissors
You’re a book of stories untold
Rock, paper, scissors
It’s your hands I want to hold

Ibubulong sa hangin ang hiling na paghilom
Sikip ang mga alaala sa iisang kahapon
Maglalakbay sa hardin kung saan nagtagpo
Nais nang tumalikod ngunit paano

Dadapo na parang isang paru-paro
Sa mga talulot na nasa palad mo
Iidlip sa ugoy ng hanging malamig
Liwanag ng ‘yong ngiti’y baon sa pagpikit

Tinatangay ng agos ang bawat hibla ng alaala
Ngayong gabi ika’y talang tinitingala
Hihimbing kaya ako sa aking pahinga
Kung kabisado pa rin ang hulma ng iyong mukha