It is for the reason we think and think and think,
That the finishing line seems to shrink and shrink and shrink.
Their trophies and our consolation prizes, we always link
To the faces of where it matters not if we stink.

We ***** and *****, but never look;
Only offer our eyes to reference books,
Pay our lives to learn how they sit and smile and dress and cook,
When we could carve out crafts of our own on hippocampus walls to hook.

Charts and charts of sound waves go farther than needed into the ear,
But in this statistic, there are more of those which we are deaf to hear.
Then we wonder, perhaps they will listen if we talk our fear through beer.
What we cannot, we must preach, so in the morning it’ll all be clear.

Putting on several mouths, sincerity seldomly salivates in our tongues.
And all we ever scream about, we let clump and clog in our lungs.
Our voices, we swallow, then verbalize universal dung.
Is that easier than to allow our singularity be hung?

To possess such delicate bones under thick coats of flesh and skin,
One little sting, we crumble as if our framework isn't as fortified as tin.
But sometimes when too stung, we rigidify and our cutis turns lean.
Our pores, too open, that even what doesn't exist, we welcome in.

And so, we stick to our lifelong work of homemade bibles,
And add commandments every time we build stables,
Along with valuables from the places in people’s fables.
Only us can decide to make room for new tables.

Mild and right,
Just between 212 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
With temperate steam,
Giving off a little gleam.
Won't have you scalded,
Won't ever turn frigid.
Won't let you sink,
Will buoy you up when you're on the brink.
Although lukewarm,
Still the farthest thing from numb.
Never half-hearted;
Always spirited.
And I hope as you flow,
Your uniqueness, you won't forget to show.

Can't we choose the air that coalesces with our blood?
Can't we decide the only time to let our lids shut and unlock?
Can't we pick the only lumps we want to sprout from our structures?
Can't we select the parts we would rather have blemished?
Can't we prohibit the leaky drops of saline our eyes secrete?
Or forbid our visage from exposing an out of control kaleidoscope?
Can't we stop our pumps from thrashing and throbbing and telling on us?
As well as command our malfunctioning extremities to quit giving away our state?
Can't we instead just bring out our insides without dissecting the outside?
Can't we just emit what we mean to sound off by just lip-syncing?
Can't we really do anything without a swad of nerves tell us no?
While having every stretch of muscle and vein say yes?
Can't we just...
Can't we really?

If love's a crime,
Then we'd be criminals.
To some eyes, we'd be monsters;
And to many, we'd be devils.
But I wouldn't mind my first name being feared and hated,
Because having your last name is what matters to me.

If love's a crime,
Then we'd be criminals.
We'd be playing with fire and get burned;
We'd be playing tag with the detectives
And hide-and-seek with the cops.
But I wouldn't mind running and hiding with you for the rest of my life.

If love's a crime,
Then we'd be criminals.
We'd be locked behind bars
And treated like animals.
But as long as my hand is hand-cuffed to your hand
And we're together in the same prison cell,
I wouldn't mind wearing a handcuff
And staying in prison for eternity.

The road was wet with rain
And they were sharing the same umbrella.
They were just about to cross the street,
While inside a jeepney I sat in pain;
Staring at the loading area,
Thinking that what have followed him were supposed to be my feet.

At some restaurant in a mall,
They sat, talked, and ate dinner.
They were together from afternoon 'til evening,
While I just came home after a stroll,
Thinking how much she was a winner
For having what I have always been wanting.

He says he had so much fun,
Going from places to places with her.
They had karaoke and then some.
I guess I could start shooting myself with a gun,
Than to tell myself I'm fine, and be a liar.
What is to lose, anyway? I have none.

I guess my role isn't really that good.
I thought being his girl is one thing I wouldn't trade.
But it seems like their roles are better than mine.
They are the ones who can make his mood.
I guess I'd rather be his comrade,
Than to be his girl; for which he has no time.

If I were a greek goddess,
Then I must be Hera;
And he must be Zeus.
I'm jealous, I confess;
Of all the women he was with this era.
I'm the one he loves, but I wonder how long can I be his muse.

You're the start and the end of my everyday.
Everything you do and say
Can turn clouds of gray
Into sunshine ray.
You make everything seem perfect in every way,
Like how the sun can make the rain go away.

Out of me, you could make a nun;
And it's me who you always stun.
Because you're a top that gives fun
And I'm the string, around you I've always spun.
And away from you, I could never run,
Like how the earth will always revolve around the sun.

It's me who you always inspire;
And it's you who I will always admire.
In you, I couldn't find anything dire.
You can take away, even my strongest ire.
Because it's only you who can make me retire,
Like how water is the weakness of fire.

You're the only one who came
That made me sing your name;
And I'd rather lose in every game
Than to lose you for fortune and fame.
Because without you, I wouldn't be the same,
Like how a candle would be nothing without a flame.

I thought I'd be able to sleep
If my thoughts, I refuse to keep.
Now more feelings start to peep;
Making me want to weep.

It's all because of you,
This is all you know to do.
There's nothing new,
You never changed nor grew.

I thought of doing something
To keep this from happening.
But it didn't have any meaning,
To you it was nothing.

It's all pointless.
All that I've done are timeless,
But still, you made it all worthless.
How could you be so heartless?

I.
Alice in Wonderland thinks that she had found
The perfect place where she heard the white hare's sound
And the meow of Cheshire cat with nose so round,
Along with singing flowers on the green ground.

She'd stay asleep forever
Just to stay in Wonderland forever.
She refuses to wake up and says, “never!”
But I would stay awake forever
If I'd be with you forever.
Because with you, there's always a Wonderland wherever.

II.
The mirror says Snow White is the fairest in the land.
She already has it all; no need for a magic wand.
And with that beautiful voice, she could even sing in a band.
And after a kiss, the prince took her hand.

No other face could be compared to her beauty.
Her snow-white skin and blood-red lips are what brought her popularity.
Still, she has sincerity and humility.
I'm not beautiful, and that's reality.
And all that I have is self-pity.
But you make me feel as if I'm prettier than Aphrodite.

III.
Of all the fairytales, it was Cinderella who first had a happy ending.
She and the prince were dancing
Until the end of the evening.
And the next thing she knew, she was wearing a wedding ring.

She had the best happily-ever-after;
From wearing rags to living in a castle tower
And drinking wine instead of just water.
Love made her life brighter.
But my love story is even better,
For it has a happy ending every chapter.

IV.
Juliet claims her story still is the greatest of all.
She met her prince Romeo at a royal ball.
But between them, their families built a wall.
But with their eternal love, even death haven't had the chance to forestall.

She's right, her story is golden.
All the others have failed; her place cannot be taken.
Romeo and Juliet's record might not have been beaten,
But the greatest story yet to be written
Is our story where love goes beyond heaven.
Because if I would die for you, I'd do it over and over again.

Never have I let a black cat get in my way,
Never have I turned a horseshoe upside-down,
And never have I looked at a broken mirror;
But yet it seems like black cats insist on getting in my way,
Horseshoes turn themselves upside-down,
And mirrors break themselves, to give me bad luck.

“Don't sweep the floor at night if you don't want to sweep away the fortune,”
“Don't open an umbrella while you're still inside, if you don't want to attract trouble;”
That's what they all say.
But it seems like no matter what I do,
Good luck and good fortune really want to stay away from me,
And misfortune and disaster really want to chase after me.

Every incident turns into accident.
No, it can't be just a coincidence.
I'm jinxed, vexed, and hexed.
Call me anything you want,
It won't change the fact;
I'm hoodooed, and voodooed, and cursed.

But the fortune teller never told me about
How fate would suddenly be on my side this time.
She read my palm
And looked at her crystal ball,
But all she saw
Was my ill-fated future.

But now the wheel of fortune has finally spun;
The one on the bottom is finally on top.
I guess this is the effect of karma.
Destiny has finally decided
To give me something I need more than anything,
And it's none other than a lucky charm.

This lucky charm cannot be worn like a ring, bracelet, or an amulet;
And cannot be stolen like a gem or a stone.
It's something that I am the only one who possess;
For it is not an object, but a person instead.
He's not a genie, a wizard, or anyone who can grant any wish;
Just an ordinary person, with an extraordinary magic.

Bad luck is my twin;
We're together through thick and thin.
But when I'm with him,
It's as if good luck is also with me.
Because he can make such an unfortunate person
Feel even luckier than a lucky charm.

Time doesn't crawl,
No, you can't make it stall;
Even if you pay with any toll.
So make as much brawl,
And quit calligraphy and try to scrawl.
So in the end, you'd have something to recall.

Time doesn't walk,
Don't try to balk.
Everybody knows it flies faster than a hawk.
So be sure to listen when I talk,
Because someday I'd be gone and you'd surely gawk.
And by then, you can never again stalk.

Time doesn't wait,
So drown all your hate.
Don't be the rod; instead be the bait.
Don't wait for the fish to become cate;
Catch it before it's too late.
For you never know when's the expiry date.

Time doesn't hang out,
That's what it's all about.
So don't fill your head with doubt;
Laugh while you can still spout.
Because no matter what you do, time will rout.
And there's no use of trying to pout.

Time doesn't pause.
You're not the boss,
You don't need to know the cause.
So don't wait for any loss,
Or for the growth of moss.
For one day there might be no coin left to toss.

Time doesn't stand by,
And it's not a lie.
The sky's too high,
But you'll reach it when you die.
Life's a sweet apple pie,
So don't waste it on a sigh.