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"I loved you. I would like to love you once again."

- If I wrote a second chance love story

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Sikhay Portfolio

Recital 2020

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Series Poetry | A Genteel Fairy

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Transcreated poetry

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Poetry #10 | It's Only the Ashes They Feel

The sky has darkened;

Raindrops become darkened grit

Of shattered glass from deep below

Fiery mountains have awakened

And they bring uncalculated danger

The sky has darkened;

So does the smell of the air around

Faint smell of sulfur, like explosives

It tells of fire but not quite

It is far away from us

Not enough to set our homes alight

Only enough for its remains to settle

We are marked with the danger we cannot feel

The sky has darkened;

Many cry to God for help

Some seek the false hope to save them

Another rages at the deities above

And these deities,

One they call the Supreme Being

Who brought forth this disaster upon them

And another, a mortal

Who has power to save them but will not

The sky has darkened;

With it, the light of the people

Help comes but scarcely

A few small hands cannot carry a multitude

The many weep in resignation

And the helpers cry in regret

The sky has darkened;

And those far away do not understand

What it's like in the darkest clouds

Not enough fear can strike their hearts

Only stabs of sympathy could attack them

But no more,

They turn their backs on those who suffer

For they do not know how they feel

The impact,

The struggle,

The pain

Those far away do not understand

Because

It's only the ashes they feel

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Poetry #9 | New Year Ghost

Crackling fireworks in the smoky sky

Pungent sulfur penetrates your nose

The sounds are loud that it reaches your eyes

And soon enough, you'll feel the fire

BOOM

There goes another explosive

Terrorizing the air with its loud voice

Begone the evil spirits of this year

Stay in the past as the future arrives

We cast thee away with an uproar

As we cleanse ourselves for a new life

But to rid the spirits is not a free task

It demands a sacrifice to be made

Thus, we offer them with unknowing fates

And the New Year Ghost smiles wickedly

3, 2, 1

A mixture of cries echoes around

Banishing the phantoms of our past

As the smoke of the fires begin to dissolve

We realize that our absolution has come with a price

The cries of our fellows remain

Borne from the blows we made

The New Year Ghost has left with its loot

Every burst of defiant sparks

Equals to one soul that departs

There we give our payment for freedom

And the New Year Ghost collects them all

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Poetry #8 | Opening Line

It's the first; your best

Gotta make it count

It's the start of everything

Gotta make it profound

How you start is the most important part

Yet the hardest to impress

Rules upon factors and expectations

Defy your wish of having self-expression

Tell what you mean, but don't say it all

Leave some mystery so that they'll fall

No one will look if you're unknown

Everyone wants a facefront show

It should define all that you are

It's your opening line

Gotta set the bar

Hello.

What else could you say?

This is me.

That's it?

Continue reading.

They won't spare a glance a at your story

Not with this entrance of sorts

Unless

The genuine interest of those who seek

Will gladly turn the page to read

You don't define the opening line

The story cannot be told to all

Only those who take their time

Have the chance to understand

That beginnings are not everything

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Poetry #7 | Light

You are the light of this world

In your beauty and in your smile

It makes the world better for awhile

You have so much love to give

It's tenfold of what you receive

As time grows, you will as well

But know that your youth will never fade

Even when your hair turns to gray

And the wrinkles on your face will stay

Your smile continues to glow bright

Like a child dancing in the moonlight

Stay young and free for all your days

Let none dim the endless joy in you

For you are a beacon of light for all

Without you, we will fall

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Essay #1 | There is Something Wrong With the System

There is something so wrong with the school system that it makes teens suffer just for a grade. There is something so wrong with the school system that it makes thousands of students want to kill themselves. There is something so wrong with the school system that it takes over our lives and sometimes take our own lives when we're tired of it all.

We wake up early in the morning having barely slept or even none at all. Then we drag our bodies to school even if all we want to do is to lie down in our beds and cry. But we dont have time for that. We dont have time to take care of ourselves between the projects and homeworks. There's no time for ourselves and no time to rest at all.

We manage living like this because of the constant pressure on our backs. It's not our goals and dreams that motivates us anymore, it's the fear of failure and crippling anxiety. The only thing that keeps us moving is society's expectations that we have to be good students and must learn to handle this kind of stress because this is what real world is like.

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Song #1 | See Me/See You

Come away with me

Have you seen the world in its best

Let's put your perspective to the test

Come away with me

This ain't no carpet ride

But stay by my side

I promise it's worth the while

See me on the mountaintop

Let's make the time stop

Look at the world with me

Discover the beauty

When you're on top of the world

I'll go away with you

I'll give my trust and hand

Take me all over the land

I'll go away with you

I'm blind in this path you'll lead me

It's only you that I see

And the view is complete

See me on the mountaintop

Let's make the time stop

Look at the world with me

Discover the beauty

When you're on top of the world

When the night has set

You let the magic fall

Left wondering why

You forgot the sky

Our disconnected souls

Far away from home

See you on the mountaintop

Looking up, up to the sky

With only blue and white passing by

See you above the highway

Where the towers reach up there

To the sky of beauty

I wonder if you miss me

See you on the mountaintop/See me on the mountaintop

You can't make time stop/I'll make the time stop

I've seen the world with you/Look at the world with me

There was a beauty/Discover the beauty

When you were once my world/When you're on top of the world

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Poetry #6 | Infinity

Observe the sky

The vastness;

Infinity of the world and beyond

There are greater things

Beholding the universe;

Infinity

Creation is infinite

God is infinite

No beginning, no end

An eternity of beauty

Wonderment of infinity

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Poetry #5

Isa, isa, dalawa,

Isa, dalawa, tatlo.

Isa, isa, dalawa tatlo.

Anong gagawin ko?

Nanay, Tatay, anong gagawin ko?

Munting diwa ko'y pinipilit imulat ng mundo

Sa kaliit-liit na lugar ng Tondo ang realidad ay musmos na handog

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Poetry #4

Bakit sa mabulaklak

Na lakad na iyong tahak?

Hindi mo kaya ang tusok at takot

Na binibigay ng daan

Kapag pahirapan

Hindi mo sinasagad

Ang hindi kaya ay madaya

Hindi tunay na malaya

Nakakulong ka sa kaligtasan

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Poetry #3

What if — The brain keeps us sane?

Reality is more complicated than it seems

We've locked ourselves to simplicity

Protecting ourselves from what we cannot comprehend

We get defective sometimes

Our minds trip on an overload

Of senses and too quick a mind

And we glimpse what our senses cannot reach

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Poetry #2 | An Elegy for Mother

There is life when there is mind

Heart beating and thinking

The monitor not in a straight line

Brain alive and breathing

But her life is barely there

A condition this early is rare

I've lost her yet she is here

Living but cannot hear

She's not my mother, she is dead

Replaced with a corpse needing care

"Don't lose hope, she'll be back," they said

My only response is a frown and glare

They don't know she is gone

Despite all the things she's done

I can't find the courage to love her back

Because I don't want her to come back

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Unfinished Story #2

"All for a single grain of rice?" Alfonso dropped the bag of grains down the table.

"Nothing should be wasted, mother," he explained, carefully placing back the ample amount of spilled grains.

"It makes no big difference," she scoffed back. She went about doing her chores while Alfonso did his. Such was their daily life; chores and living.

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Quote #1

Tell me when I last lived