Chaos
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Typhoon Paka
An eastern wind drives inward from the ocean blue
Carrying in its grasp both salt and sea.
A mighty force is coming…
Do not be caught unguarded and roaming…
Find shelter for what a dark night it shall be.
The named wonder finds its path and stays true:
It shall not waver or divert from its course.
Black clouds loom above…
The light flies away from the land like a dove…
Like a rude host welcoming the waves of Sirena to beat the island’s shores
Night fell fast on the land as the booming sound of the gale grew.
Sit on the floor and pray to God all will be safe tonight.
An old man’s tin roof slams on the siding…
The Old Woman resumes her wailing and crying…
The majesty and power of the storm brings forth both wonder and fright.
The eye brings a short calm deceiving the meek the worst is through
But the blackout resumes both outside the apartment and in.
Pack the storage with rice, Spam, ice, and corned beef…
Save yourself for a month of harsh times and grief…
For soon the sun will come out of hiding: the light again shall be seen.
-
As She Looks In
As she looks in, a memory stirs in the back of a mind
Of a past- gory, dark, helpless- disguised.
Death be stationed in this place-
One only need imagine the horror on their face
As their very being was taken bit by last bit.
Clouds of darkness in lives forever imprint.
As she looks in, the silence hangs over like a song
Of lament- worn, tired, hurt- gone wrong.
Songs of death ring forth here-
Overcome purely by sheer
Power and will lead hope for a new day.
Silence- heard by God- led the doomed as they prayed.
As she looks in, the sun shines through the window
Of glass- dusty, untouched, unclear- hollowed.
Faith remains hanging in the air-
For darkness of history the world has shared
As hope after horror spread throughout the world.
Never be the voices of this place be left unheard.
-
Passing Politics on Rocks
Passing politics on rocks on a two lane road-
Shouldering the shocks of a country under lock and load-
Stones covered gray,
Stones painted white-
Maybe the white curtain on dust can hide all the un-right.
Passing politics on rocks, perhaps a figure of speech-
Ask the powerful mighty if their goals are in reach.
Big suits, big business yes,
Indigenous no,
Which part of the country are you willing to grow?
Passing politics on rocks and their signs painted on.
Twelve years of peace but still so many lives wronged.
Burn down my house
Or flood it under the sea!
Leave me nothing to hold on to, but still call what I am “free”!
Passing politics on rocks, am I still being heard?
Do you still not know all the things that have occurred?
You’ve taken my country
And sold all that I had-
A foundation for society was built on sand.
-
Stampede
The heat of the day is intensified
By the stifled breathing of my countrymen
Round me close, trapping my every movement.
It is only a little suffering,
Most especially for such great a prize-
A simple sacrifice for betterment of family, thus life.
Hour by hour, we have waited
Without rest, food, or refreshment-
It is only a little suffering
When compared to such large a prize obtained so quickly.
My movements are not mine alone,
But are controlled by those around me.
They step, so I step.
They sway as I sway.
A hundred feet from the front of the line
And trapped against the iron fence
Suddenly, the space around me has shifted-
A small sacrifice, a small sacrifice.
Panic rises within this trench
Escalated by the closing of the gates-
I looked behind to a daughter
only to see her deep brown eyes
shining with growing fear,
and grabbing for her hand,
it seemed I stepped to her,
but, consciously, I remember having not.
And in one moment-
Life rushed forward:
I fell back as a sea of man, woman, and child
Came over me as a wave.
I was drowning against the current
As it continually beat me against the asphalt
I reached for a daughter-
Hoping to shield her from the sea.
Pray to God only save her and take my life-
A small sacrifice, a small sacrifice.
-
Gunshot
My heart goes out to you,
To you my brothers and sisters in arms,
In this devastating moment.
In song and sadness, we lament.
Bleed not for me,
And know that prayers are said for you,
May you rest in peace this night
Lead on to the Lord’s wonderful light.
The gunshots have rung forth
Now silence rules the world.
We remember, though we have not yet met-
Forgetting the day’s small regrets.
My heart goes out to you,
To you my brothers and sisters in arms,
In this devastating moment,
In song and sadness, we lament.
-
Reming
The mud slipped from the mountainside
Leaving us without house or home…
The dirtied water took tin, brick, and pride…
It buried all: my means of living, ancient stones.
The wind blew in horror
Establish a province without light…
Blinded us from the events in store…
Like a child awakened from a dream in the night.
Oh, the land of my lineage!
The land bounding with my blood!
Mourn the dead…
Leave the rest like water under a bridge.
Raise your hands to fight the sicknesses brought by the mud
Whilst praying for safe passage in whatever is left:
Faith, hope, love.
-
Posters on the Ground
There are posters on the ground
Showing the faces of those disappeared.
Will they ever be found?
Their unknown graves are silent without a sound
After a life lived in shuddering torture and fear.
Those lost are still remembered
By the people left behind.
In the cold, they have shuddered.
Their whispers have been muttered.
Injustices shall not be resigned.
A pattern repeated one too many times:
Professors “disappeared” because they are leaders.
The indigenous Mayan rounded up for nonexistent crimes.
Those who have spoken rendered blind
By land titles, ruling families, and foreign companies of broken mirrors.
Those lost are still remembered
By the people left behind
In the cold, they have shuttered
Their whispers have been muttered
Injustices shall not be resigned.
-
Makati Gabi
isang araw... ...
a mangled mass of steel
lies atop spilled blood
of the innocent and unaware...
nakita naming ang gabi
isang araw...
...man's earth fell from underneath
swallowing up life
to cover death...
nakita naming ang gabi
isang araw...
...a cold blast shocked the world
and threw the living's back
against an iron wall...
nakita naming ang gabi
isang araw...
tahimik ang gusto ng mga tao
pero nakuha lang ang sakit...
nakita naming ang gabi
-
Remember Burma
Men humbly esteemed in flowing robes
Have taken to the streets…
A flood of red lined mile after mile
Without weapon in hand save faith:
Remember…Peace in Burma.
A woman trapped in her home
After a call to equality shook the depths of the sea…
The poor have risen arm-in-arm
With a weapon of voice and raised fists:
Remember…Peace in Burma.
Shots ring forth for the people who stand alone
As blood trickles from slippers of emptied feet...
Resounding voices scatter the world over
With a past of violence rediscovered…
A memory and a desire for Peace in Burma.
-
Dead Row Brown
Bars slide shut- Crash-
Fourteen years dead innocent
Missing past, future, present,
Family, friends,
Blood brother, mother, descendants
Of a life lived under
A shaded life unfair
Looking towards tomorrow
Under an angel’s misplaced glare
Blackness of the skin
Deafness peers’ in the ear
Unreliable eyes
Defined the crime that is spared
Lock down, dead row,
Wondering if justice will come-
Belief in years of struggle and sacrifice
Added to a finalized sum
-
No One Wants to be Atlantis
A sinking city forever remembered
For a past glory never recovered.
A mystical place, oh how it shined!
With a moon so brightly aligned
With the lights of celebration on the streets…
No one wants to be Atlantis
To have such rich history on your back
And roots planted so deep in the soil
Only to see today and tomorrow take it all
So you can be a legend after an inevitable fall…
No, no one wants to be Atlantis,
Known as a city under the sea
Crushed under Poseidon’s mighty arm
With Sirens calling to adventurers
Looking for a lost city’s treasures…
Not one city wants to be Atlantis,
So their citizens rebuild
Hoping to hold back the power of the sky
Armed with only the knowledge of men
And a prayer to God in Heaven…
A sinking city forever remembered
For a past glory never recovered.
A mystical place, oh how it shined!
With a moon so brightly aligned
With the lights of celebration on the streets…
-
No One
One is sitting in a corner
With his head upon his knees
A darkness falls over him
As he fumbles with his beliefs
Both hands grasping around his narrow head
Controlling what he hears
All the world is falling over him:
A weight he thinks he cannot bear.
Angry tears form in his eyes
As small droplets fall from his chin
No sounds come from his body…
The air around him seems thin.
Looking at him is saddening
Tugs the strings of your heart
Makes you remember the times you were alone
When, in no group, you took part
No living being will acknowledge his presence
As his gloomy appearance can be seen
All of them look and do nothing
As he disappears into a person that had been.
-
Angst
Anger in an imagined age
Made true by popular choice
Defined in modernity as a phase in life
Between young and old
Between innocence and responsibility
Between Mother and Maker
Unexplained and misunderstood
Acted upon and hidden
Angst comes suddenly unwanted
Not appreciated, selfish, conflicted
With the powers that be that stand in its way
A small heart filled with anger
Overwhelming the beauty of the day
Smothering an already filled mind
Piercing nailed hands and buried feet
In the quicksand of the days’ trials
-
City in the Sky
Reach toward the heavens, my friend,
Stretch your steel arms toward the sky
Let your glass eyes focus on the clouds
As your city’s blaring noise sing on high
You’ve fallen on your knees, my friend,
Then struggled to keep what’s left
You’ve birthed millions upon millions
Only to suffer death upon death
You are a city in the sky, my friend,
See- the hopeful are led by your lady’s light
Though your square is filled with false treasures
Remember who you are in your glory, your hope, and your might.
-
Escape
channel surfing mind boggling visuals pass swiftly in the mind
imagination made reality two-dimension totality consciousness left unknowingly behind
are you numb?
are you comfortable?
are you tired of modern life?
have you loved?
have you forgotten your brothers' pain?
have you turned blind?
dust clutching gravel kicking sun light come shine
unsettling discovery emotions don't pass quickly when the world's problems are seen split-screened organized
are you numb?
are you comfortable?
are you tired of modern life?
have you loved?
have you forgotten? to your brothers' pain, have you turned blind?
seed picking water gathering God's basic life design
pain unheeded struggle unnoticed gunshots are everyday defined
are you numb?
are you comfortable?
are you tired of modern life?
have you loved?
have you forgotten?
to your brothers' pain, have you turned blind?