yabs

I dare to smile
As I remember your tears
These stories of tragedy
And the loneliness of time

I listened intently
But dismissed the irrelevant
Your pain, your sadness
Your never ending search

Listen to me now
As I used to listen before
Open up to countless smiles
Ignore the useless lies

Cherish happiness
Without remembering sorrow
Take risks
But never live in regret

Fall in love
When your heart and mind agree
If you fall out of love
Don't fall into hate

Be giving
Without simply being used
Be selfish
But never heartless

Be like an iris
That blooms in grace and beauty
Regardless of what surrounds it
It remains vibrantly pretty

yabs

The night slipped into morning
I sat and began to write
My goal was clearly set
My mind racing against light

I search for this month's muse
As I do per cycle of the moon
I stood, I bowed, I rushed
For daylight may come soon

As I was giving up
I remembered someone's name
These thoughts renewed a promise
That she forgot to claim

It reopened all the memories
Then I began to write it down
Freely I continued
Mere minutes into dawn

And so at last I finished
Then I cleared my throat
I read out lout to myself
Content with what I wrote

To the first poem of June
That I'll base my whole month on
The first my mind concieved
Written ahead of the sun

yabs

Narito nakakulong
Sa selda ng katotohanan
Kasama ng mga salita
Na hindi mabitiwan

Ang tanging nilalang
Na walang kakayahan
Walang lakas ng loob
Balot sa katahimikan

Huwad na tapang
Na di kayang takpan
Ang labis na kawalan
Ng paniniwala sa sarili

Gusto ng tagumpay
Gusto ng ligaya
Na hindi kayang patotohanan
Kinagisang kaduwagan

Nakakulong sa takot
Na dala ng kabiguan
Habambuhay na talunan
Dahil ayaw makipagsapalaran

yabs

To live and relish
Each passing moment
Cherishing each experience

Every event glorified
Squeezing joy from every second
Giving value to every gesture

Setting all events
As an extension of dreams
A supplement to life

Each sound is like music
Each word a lyric
Each action a classic play

Viewing the big and small
As unparalleled gifts
Magnificent monumets to life

Dancing becomes a connection
Laughing becomes a symphony
And each person, is a wonderous subject

yabs

Araw ng Kalayaan?





Manhid sa pagbaba ng kalidad ng buhay
Na noon ay iaasam…
Mapagsamantala ang tao
Yan ay katotohanan.

Ngunit maraming ayaw tanggapin
Ang kalokohang laganap sa mundo.
Nagbubulag-bulagan at nananatiling tahimik
Binbanaon sa limot.

Pero bakit kapag sila…
Ang mga taong dati’y bulag,
Dati’t pipi,
Dating ulyanin…

Malamangan lang ng kahit kaunti
Nagagalit... nagrereklamo
“Ang sistema’y hindi makatarungan!”

Nakakatawa ay nakakabahala ang pagiisip
Ng modernong tao.
Ang taong takot magsalita at mistulang bulag
Ay walang karapatang maglabas ng hinaing.

Bukasan ang isip at matutong magpahiwatig.
Duwag ang mga hudas sa ingay ng sariling gulo.
Dito sila matatalo…
Sa mundong may boses. Sa mundong may mata.

Sa mundong may puso.

yabs

I am cursed to live
Only in darkness
I seem to thrive
In the absence of light

In deep regret I rise
As the sun sets
And begin to face things
That all men do

The pain of Love
The weight of memories
The undescribable sadness
and the betrayal of friends

The vital difference is
You all rise with the sun
Along with most of the world
Living with the masses

You know little
Of what loneliness means
Until you wake
When everybody else is asleep

Seeking refuge
Among the few outcasts
No comfort for the solitary
No response from a world that sleeps

Ultimately just by myself

yabs

Barking commands
To the mass of minions
Watchful eyes overlooking
Critical of every move

Not happy with success
But extremely angry with failure
Efficiently uncompromising
Lacking that humane charm

Unable to do things alone
But criticizing unmercifully
Rigidly sitting
On a throne of authority

Lord of words and money
Profiting from sweat
From tears and blood
The hardwork of others

Society made you powerful
A society of lost values
A world of tangible gains
The specie of the unfit

yabs

This night was different
It started quite uniquely
I stood there by myself
Like I always do

I glanced at you
From across the room
But this time
You looked back

I wanted to part the crowd
Make my way to you
Sadly my social obligations
Prevented me from doing so

My fears and the way I over think
Ensured the death this chance
This hesitation ruined me
As I pretended to not care

All the questions
None of the answers
All the opportunities
Yet no will to try

yabs

A sleep deprived curse
From a lifestyle long faded
Diverted to hours
Of writing and reading

Come morning sun
My eyes dry up
My blood thickens
And my weakness apparent

So many ideas
For scripts and novels
From movies to philosophies
All abandoned halfway

Chapters of broken thoughts
Lessons never shared
Epiphanies of the highest regard
At the price of two hours of sleep

Eyes of red
Body of weariness
A pimple covered face
Two hours of sleep

Eyebag-mascara
Shoulders slouched low
A drained ad fading mind
Let me sleep two hours more

yabs

Today I saw a fight
A street full of kids
A big group carrying sticks
A smaller group with shivs

Running and yelling
For the smallest of reasons
Picking fights
With all kinds of persons

It saddens me
To see the children of today
Getting hurt and causing pain
In every concievable way

Emulating videos
And anger not their own
Always ready to cause trouble
Ready to cast the first stone

Numerous children die
Giving their all to appear tough
Just for a hardcore image
That they think is reason enough

yabs

The caress of the sun
On my sun-starved skin
That for only five minutes
I can try to feel

Here comes the rain
And the gloom it brings
The sun is the head
The clouds its bossom

To be repeatedly soaked
And to freeze once again
A shivering body
In a drowning world

A sole wish
To the covered sun
Warm majestic rain
In this season of cold

Brought by this soothing rain
Are memories of forever
Smiling carefree faces
Frolicking in the rain

This is my prayer
For these cold cold months
Warm soothing rain
Pouring down to earth

yabs

Ang pagdampi ng araw
Sa aking peklating balat
Na limang minuto lang
Maaaring malasap

Sa pagdating ng ulan
Na dala ang dilim
Mistulang ulo ang araw
Mga ulap ang dibdib

Muling mababasa
Muling manlalamig
Nanginginig na katawan
Sa nalulunod na daigdig

Iisang hiling
Sa araw na nakatakip
Mainit na ulan
Sa panahon ng tag-lamig

Dala ang ginhawa
Mga alaala ng kailanman
Mukhang naka-ngiti
Habang naliligo sa ulan

Ito ang aking dasal
Sa panahon ng tag-lamig
Mainit na ulan
Ibuhos sa daigdig

yabs

How did it come to this?
Happy once depressed the next
Afraid of being alone
Terrified of being tied down

A racing heart
A fear of the coming unknown
Trembling at change
That may not even be real

So many thoughts
Resisting needed order
Paranoia, neurosis
Possibly schizophrenia

So many answers
Can't even pick one
Turned from happy
To unbearable depression

I sit in solitude
Even as I ask for help
Give me my sanity
Return my health

This unexplainable episode
Deeply rooted in the past
The author of my phobia
A shadow permanently cast

yabs

Years of history
With people you met
The ones you spent time with
The persons you respected

Tried so hard
For their favor and approval
What you thought you gained
And wholeheartedly earned

Only to realize
These people you called friends
8 years you gave value
Hated you for a decade

Hated you from the start
Mocked you in your absence
Words spoken
Slanderous and unfair

But in your presence
They smile and give you praise
Hiding behind masks
With no ounce of shame

8 years you called them friends
10 years the called you names
The minute you gave trust
Was an hour they gave hate