Rinig sa buong bansa ang pag-iyak ng langit. Ang tubig ay umaakyat sa dingding, kumakapit sa aming mga tuhod. Sa bubong, kami’y nanginginig sa lamig. Si Tatay ay pilit na binubuhat si Lola, nanginginig ang mga braso, nangingintab sa putik at pawis. Ang bawat hakbang...
Mga patay na tangkay ang nilalagpasan ni Tu-bo. Sa maputik na daan, katumbas nito ang maligalig niyang mga paa. Bantay niya ang huni ng mga ibon sa itaas. Habang hampas ng nagagalit na mga puno ang kumakatok sa kaniyang konsensya. Tumingala si Tu-bo sa kaniyang...
Beep. Beep. Beep. The alarm screams, disturbing the silence. I’ve been awake for longer than that. Yet, I do not move nor blink. The mattress sags under a heavy weight— sprawled across my chest, pressing, burrowing in deeper the longer I lie still. ...
Today, we rose—united, aflame,against corruption’s endless game. Our voices thunder, fierce and clear,shaking halls where power sneers.Within that four-cornered palace high,our cry of truth will split the sky,and stone by stone, those walls will fall,for justice waits...
“We, the sovereign Filipino people” A preamble that seems to only exist in name, So that those with serpent skins of greed Have you be used for their own personal gain. Can’t you hear the cries of your people? The grief of mothers clutching bloodied coffins, The pleas...
I'm thirty floors up and my shoes are set aside, My feet planted on the ledge to catch an early flight. I shut my eyes, I breathe and think, A caricature of memories flashes before me in a blink. I think of my mother and the child she'll have lost, The burden she's...
Sunlight brushed softly against my cheek. I opened my eyes, smiled, and finally exhaled—for the first time in four years, I woke up without the weight of deadlines pressing on my chest. I lay there for a while—staring at the ceiling, noticing cobwebs in the...
I think I saw it before anyone else did—the way he looked at her,with soft eyes and sweet smiles,like every moment with herwas a scene from a movie. It started small:a glance that lingered a second too long,an inside joke that made them both blush.Eventually, everyone...
Isang digmaan ang lansangan,Ngiti ng hari ang hudyat ng dusa,Isang utos—buhay nawala.Masaya bang paglaruan sila? Para bang piyesa—hawak mo ang tadhanaSa kapangyarihan mong nanalaytayTao’y nagmistulang manikang taga sunodKaya’t...
Hindi ko malilimutan ang araw ng kasal ko. Hindi umalis si mama sa tabi ko dahil alam n'ya ang kaba ko. Nanginginig ako habang nainom ng tubig, umaasang uhaw lang ang dahilan ng paninikip ng aking dibdib. Pero imbes na gumaan ang...