The Last Voyage

12/16/10

11:28 pm

Bedford Ave. 

The Last Voyage

The seas were aghast

Clamoring waters swept by the brutal torrent

The skies were obscurely dark

As the storm pushed away everything in its path

Strong currents consumed ships and boats

Vessel by vessel

Engulfed by measureless depth

Yet one ship struggled feebly to stay afloat

Navigating hastily against the violent tide

Only one ship made it ashore.

The only ship buoyant, amidst nature’s upheaval

One ship came back to tell tales of terror

Yet it was shunned as an enchanted survivor

Narrowly escaping demise through the supernatural

Indelibly present, like that of a king’s talisman

Surviving crusades and battles of time

A deserter sent by gods

Who spoke of preposterous legends

And mythical tales of the unimaginable

Yet truth be told that in its glorious escape

Destiny was no accident

For fate dictates a predestined mission

An inevitable task it must partake

     

Abre Tus Ojos

12/15/10

8:46 pm

Apt. 2

 Abre Tus Ojos

There she stood blindfolded

Unable to withstand defiant winds

As she grew cold and fatigued

Her sword falls to the ground

Aged scale tilts

Impartial eyes uncovered

Justice served on a silver platter

Midnight

09/30/10

12:00 am
Brooklyn

Midnight

Its midnight.

The clock strikes with an indelible bullet

A salient image of a conqueror,

Set with an arrow about to pierce the sky.

It awakens the soul with stubborn persistence

As the day brought to a close

Memories of yesterday

Become tales of old.

Pleasant occurrences held frozen,

Dire ones, forgotten

Gave meaning to the emptiness,

Of an uneventful subsistence.  

Its midnight

The clock ticks forward.

The mind is restless

Rousing the listless.

As the brightness dawns

Another beginning thrives.

A ceaseless recurrence

Of hope lost and found.

The Hermit

07/21/10

4:22 pm

Bay Ridge

 

The Hermit

Home searching

The assiduous hermit seeks a dwelling.

It has become larger, 

And its house lesser,

The pressure on its waist consuming.

As it rummaged around for second-rate shelters

He had to resist other husk carriers

Yearning religiously

Frisking scrupulously,

Finding its niche.

As it settled in one shabby nook

An untouched refuge it now betook

Its unarmed tail now protected

From all the scrapes and bruises, he now departed.

It may not be free from the toil and grapple

Yet now it could rest its claws

For tomorrow a new day begins

A new soul labors,

A new spool spins.

Pautang

07/19/10

10:05 am

Bay Ridge

Pautang

Kayod-kabayo,  

Pukpok sa martilyo.

Pilit idinugtong ng mga pakong kalawangin,

Mga basang kahoy, natuyo ng hanging mahabagin

Tubig at pawis

Naghalo sa kalsadang marungis

Batang aba, lumangoy sa dapat na batis

Animo’y ilat sa alingasaw at putik

Dugo mong busilak

Sa uga’t lamang ang pagdanak

Ngayo’y itim na galos sa balat

Itim na islang nailubog ng luhang alat

Mga alaalang itinatangi

Inilibing ng agos at sidhi

Hikbing nag-uumapaw, pilit sugpuin 

Maisalba lamang, mga santo’t panalangin

Hagupit ng kalikasan

Parusang di ninais makamtan

Tila mga langgam sa munsik,  

Ngunit sa diwa’t isipa’y lakas ng pananalig

A Summer Dream

07/01/10

8:22 am

Bay Ridge

A Summer Dream

My eyes peeped out a puny aperture,

 Hoping to see the world in a more lucid scrutiny.

Nothing was different as the universe unfolded.

The world was mundane, visibly tiresome

 And the routine was endlessly constant.

Objects had no color.

But their shadows remained

 As if the absence of light was more apparent.

It was murky and my eyes grew tired.

But I still watched in ennui,

 Eager to have hysterics about something stimulating.

But there was no amusement.

Not even an assurance of it.

This uncertainty was grueling.

I was exhausted.

My eyes went shut to the world.

Shadows became permanent.

I dived into oblivion.

 As this lifeless vacuum became a dwelling place.

But soon the darkness faded out peculiarly

 And the unimaginable became truth.

Objects shifted randomly.

Vibrant lights were beyond belief

  And its colors came out unpredictably.

This disorder was beyond description

 And it was gently undisturbed.

This occurrence left me elated.

And this unutterable understanding

 Became hard-earned wisdom.

Trust was sincere and immeasurable.

There was only room for belief,

 And doubt, I did no more.