Gypsy Caravan

“The greatest inheritance we could ever receive in this lifetime is education”

(May 29, 2006)

To my forefathers this gift I owe

Through their sweat and toil

This love from them I am privileged to enjoy

With a sense of gratitude this chance I must not foil

Handed down for many a generations

This treasure with great pride I now hold

With tattered clothing and a peasant’s meal

To me has been bestowed

Richer than the grandest of kings

By many I have been told

Each day’s travel scores have been unraveled

For every sunrise and every night fall

Sundry pages and unmarked chapters I must explore

With great diligence from these I must learn

Like great warriors do, one must discover

As I leave home in the time of battle

Assured must my resolve be that I shall not falter

For another home opens its arms to harbor

To my Socrates, to you I pay homage to

For my existence would be a colossal fumble without you

To a feeble mind great pains you have endured

Make certain a potent source this iceberg will become

More powerful than a gun nor a sword, my choice of weapon

To thee my comprehension I would be honored to confer

And as I grow older and wiser

My thirst and hunger must not surrender

For as long there is a mouthful of air out there

Heaps of scrolls, they are waiting to be gathered

And so as the hands of time comes passing through

Exultant I must be to realize the arrival

With a great sense of gratitude to my forefathers

This yearly gift they bequeath

“Thrice a day - during meals, we feel like we are kings. After that we become normal people again”

(Circa August 1999 – after lunch break at the office)

A king for a moment

With no queen of my own

Three times a day

I command my servants with

An unremorseful tone

A banquet for today

Maybe just bread for tomorrow

Just three times a day

I become a king

With no queen of my own

“I remember the handcuffs and the new haircut - not a good way to propose! Busted”

(Circa Summer of 1991)

Feeling so lonely today

This heart seems breaking away

The silence of the night

Agrees with what I have inside

The tears from my eyes

Fall like raindrops from the sky

Seems like I’m down in this hole

And I can’t get myself up alone

All that is in my head

Makes me sense like I’m dead

All the things that I see

Makes me remember of You and Me

And as I dream of you laughing with glee

It fills my soul with ecstasy

And when I hear the music that set us free

It pains me up so easily

I’ve taken away my pride

To show you how much I’ve cried

But I still have enough tears for myself

So that I too can share it with someone else

I wish you knew that what’s left of me are

The memories of you

"One of the first attempts to write a sad love song which eventually turned into a poem"

(Circa September 1994)

Whenever the sun loses

It’s shine on me

It’s you that keeps

The light above me

And those pictures of you

Makes me long for

Your company

Being happy is what

I thought we would be

You and I, with smile plenty

Dreaming of those sweet smiles

You have shown me

Makes world turn smoothly

Many a time I think about you

And I know that it’s true

That this life of mine is

Nothing without you

Hopelessly waiting for the day

I won’t be this blue

Nothing’s changed since the day

We decided to look the other way

And although my existence

Seems to have lost its glow

I will remain this being

You’ve learned to know

“unang paglalahok sa pang bansang halalan.”

(Mayo 1992. Inilathala ang tulang ito sa pangambang ang mga pangako ng mga politiko’y mapapako)

Nag-umpisa sa matatamis na salita

Mga pangarap sa buhay na maginhawa

Mga pangakong lubos na nakakalula

Kay sarap malamang mayroon din palang

May malasakit at pagmamahal

Lahat ng mga pangarap

Ipinatnubaya sa iyo

Lahat ng mga ninais

Sa iyo magkakatotoo

Mga buhay ay iniligay

Sa kamay mo

Ngunit ano ang iyong ginawa

Mga pangarap iyong winalang bahala

Ang mga pangako’y iyong pinako

Dangal ng bayang ito ipinag-bili mo

Sa kaunting pilak at ginto

Mga mata mo’y nalulong

Mga pang sariling ginhawa

Sa iyo’y napa anod

“after 20 years of tyranny, our land is stricken with poverty, violence and  a poor justice system”

(circa 1994 after sociology class)

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Said the man with anger in his roots

System fails in this godforsaken land

Dreams shut down before his eyes

Emotions low, crimson skies pouring below

Cold judgement is it for him with no gold

Cold tears flowing from this broken soul

Voices shut down until there is no more tone

Wanting to be free from a deprived respectable life

Anguish and pain, is it all that he has to gain

The shine of the light it’s no where in sight

Dark clouds arise in this melancholic skies

Shall I run away from the facts

Hungry children is a common sight

Rampant bloodshed by my side

Will I close my eyes

Will I turn away or stay

There is no other way

It’s so sad to say

My face full of shame

Shed some tears for the dying

It’s my own helpless way

“unang pag mulat sa socio-political na estado ng ating bayan”

(Taon 1992 nang natapos ang termino ni Corazon Aquino)

Young man got no where to run

Hide your gun, hide your gun

You could not take the chance

So you took the law into your own hands

Young man, go on and have

A doze of your crack

Come on, come on

Lick, shoot and suck

That cuervo in your hand

Young man, young man

Go on and have some fun

They say it only has begun

Before you know it

You’ll be six feet

Under the ground

What has become of him

Is his personal tragedy

This has nothing to do

With you and me

It is the society that has

Misplaced his destiny

"Pag-ibig ng isang kathang isip sa isang makatotohanang katauhan"

(Circa May 1995)

Ako’y narito abot kamay lamang sa iyo

Umaasang marinig kahit kapirasong tinig mo

Sa aking puso ikaw lamang ang tinitibok nito

Ang iyong mga ngiti ang nagbibigay ligaya sa aking mundo

Ako’y napupuno ng saya kapag ika’y aking natatanaw

Nagtatanong kung bakit ika’y laging iniisip

Sa buong maghapon pangalan mo’y aking binabanggit

Sa aking puso ikaw lamang ang minimithi

Ang aking paghihintay kalian mapapawi

Ang pag-ibig na ito’y abot hanggang langit

Sa itaas ako ay nakikiusap

Dinggin sana ang tawag ko

Sa aking panaginip

Na tayo ay muling magkatagpo

Ang pagnanais kong mahaplos

Ang iyong kamay

Ang pagnanasang ika’y makasama

Pang habang buhay

Walang makapagsasabi kung ang

Lahat ng ito ay mangyayari

Hiwaga lamang ng dasal ang kusang

Magbibigay sa akin ng ngiti

(May 18, 1995)

"Nowadays, it is impossible to leave home without a mobile phone"

(Circa April 2006)

You see my smile without looking at me

You feel my heartbeat without touching me

Scores of your reflection you convey to me

Sometimes with ease

Sometimes with difficulty

At any given moment

It connects you and me

"After a stressful day in the office, this is where a come home to - my room"

(Circa January 2006)

It harbors my soul

Keeps me sane when I am alone

The daily battles

Battered and bruised

To you I come home

The feeblest of castles

The grandest of kingdoms

A room full of paradise

This is a little piece of heaven

I call my own