Collateral Damage?

The years spent by a nurturing and caring hand
Life as precious as her life . . . gone in a second

Ignoring life in satisfaction of a promise

An action that seems to be a blatant excess

For even a beast’s life is precious, man’s life should be

God offered the life, only He, can take it away 

The authority, supposed to be the protector

Appears to be the punisher and masked aggressor

Yet, the lies and insistence that all is in triumph

Seemingly giving the people nothing but false hope

To defend is not to transgress, saying it’s legal         

Man is not a toy but with flesh and blood that’s real

The intent that is supposed to be for everyone

A good intent yet wrong . . . the manner how it is done

For when the implementation is not what we hope for 

All is off-beam . . . then the graveyard is only for the poor 

There's not a Change

I walk slowly, I walk fast but there’s not a change

Heard the gun fires, the bellow, the cries and the whines

I stop for awhile, look around and view the place

And wonder if in this land I could find solace

I perch on a tree trunk and ponder with the time

As I hear the songs of yesterday… a grumble

There’s not a change… it’s the same music that I hear

There’s not a change… the noise of time that I should bear

The passersby, I hear them singing… so lonely

Walking towards somewhere… to a place of nowhere

I see their faces but I don’t know what they feel

There seems a pain and unseen wound that never heal

There’s always a promise in an uncertain world

A hold on pledge may always be heard but not felt

We can walk or run; we can shout or just whisper

Prove that we can do anything and should not fear

If I sing with them . . . or not, will there be a change?

If I walk with them . . . or not, will there be a change?

It’s my mind that will decide but my heart will tell
Amend . . . easy to say yet so hard to compel

Taking the Risk

All our life we take the dangers

from birth until our dying years

we took the risk knowingly or naively

a cycle in an unpredictable society 

In the past, we already took the risk

do not ask since there were a lot to think

we took the risk hoping for a change

though change was never within the range

Tired of waiting for the things we hoped

from the promises that were only a joke

of the plans where execution is vague

delivered by a tongue that only talks big

The dangers we bumped into were matchless

but it seems the lessons learned were less

there was always a glimpse of hope

unfortunately, we had never coped 

Narsiso

Sino ba itong nakaharap sa salamin

Na tila lahat ng anggulo ay nais sipatin

Kakagatin ng marahan ang mga labi

Saka kikindat at maglalabas ng ngiti

Halos isang oras nang paikot-ikot

At ang buong mukha ay kinakalikot

Panay ang hagod sa kinulayang buhok

Subalit ang porma ay hindi matumbok

Sino ba itong naglalakad ng marahan

Tila inaagaw ang pansin ng karamihan

Agaw-pansin ang bawat kilos at mga salita

Maharot man o mahinhin, ito’y sinasadya

Sino ba itong laman ng mga umpukan

At nais ay siya lamang ang pinakikinggan

Lahat ay kaya at palaging siya ang bida 

Siya ang magaling, ang guwapo o maganda

Sino ba itong laman ng social media

Bawat kibot ay nakalathala ang mukha

Sa bawat oras ay may bagong larawan

Kuha man sa kubeta o sa paminggalan

Nagkaroon ka na ba ng oras na mapagtanto

Kung ang mga kilos mo ay totoo o biro

Isa ka ba sa mga Narsiso ng kasalukuyan

Na ang sarilli ay labis na kinahuhumalingan

Kababawan

susubukan kong magsulat ng isang tula na kakaiba

may mga salita na medyo malalim at matalinhaga

mga salitang pinag-isipan at may kurot sa masa

ngunit, paano ba uumpisahan. . . bigla akong natulala

umupo sa harap ng kompyuter, nag-isip at tumipa

tumingala, napatungo at kinusot ang mga mata

tumipa ng mabagal hanggang makabuo ng mga salita

subalit nang binasa, mga salita ay kagyat na binura

sumandal sa upuan at nag-isip ng taimtim

anong mga salita ba ang matalinhaga at malalim

ang salitang balon ba ay maituturing na malalim

at ang matalinhaga ay katulad ng salitang lihim?

ha ha ha . . . bigla akong natawa sa aking naisip

napakababaw na biro bakit ‘di na lang umidlip

marahil sa pagtulog ay magkaroon ng panaginip

mainam nga’ng matulog kesa sa umupo at maghalukipkip

talagang kasama sa buhay ang pagiging mababaw

lumalabas paminsan-minsan na animo ay bulalakaw

at sa atensyon natin ay paminsan-minsan umaagaw

may nakakainis, nakakatuwa, depende sa salita o galaw

ang pagiging mababaw ay larawan ng katotohanan

kung paano ninanais ng tao ang maging ganito o ganyan

sa ganang akin, ang kababawan ay hindi isang kamalian

basta’t ito ay walang naidudulot na kapahamakan

Seasons of Love

It was in fall when I met you

As you walked with a gloomy face

There’s no one cared, neither one had noticed

But in my fleeting look, I saw some grace

Then fall had petered out and winter came

Fate had intrude and I met you again

I thought I saw you appeared so calm

With a graceful walk but a cold grin

When spring had arrived I was hoping

For interference from a prowler fate

Then I saw you with a genuine smile

A stunning beauty had made me quiet

The summertime was the most wonderful

Strolling around holding each other’s hand

The fulfilled time and cheerful hearts

Changes the life that used to be bland

The Future in January

I walk past the years and look at the future

As January comes though I wasn’t so sure

Will there be a new sunshine for me to see?

Or, a signal of new hope as what they say.

I waited, I hoped but then, I never learned

That waiting and hoping can simply be earned

In an idle time of a lethargic man

Nowhere to go if won’t budge a leg or arm

I hope, we all can hope, but it’s not enough

A balloon in an empty room would soon puff

I can wait; we all can wait from dawn ‘til dusk

The trinkets will hide unless it is unmasked

Now, I want to walk fast towards the future

But the future seems at a very far shore

In the mid-day of life still keeps on searching

The vagueness of future still in the offing

I wish to change my mind and run or step back

Time is fading in a life with so much flak

Then the realization came like a lightning

The future is near yet so far from reaching