Finding the Safe Spaces in our Minds

"Makasarili" Heto nanaman tayo, nakahiga at nakaupo, 'di alam ang katapusan, kailan pa makakabangon?

Ilang buhay na ang kinuha?

Ilang buhay ba ang kukunin? sa lakas ng mga alon, ay nalulunod na tayo sa lalim.

Sa lalim ng mga sana, mga sana na naging bakit, ba't di matapos-tapos, ang epidemyang makasarili?

"Simula" Sa haba ng habangbuhay, ay di kailanman pinili kong masugatan.

Bagaman, 'di ko matanggap ang pagdating ng araw sa dulo ng buhay.

At di ko kayang piliin, na salabungin ang gabi, sa simula ng pagmamahalan.

Hanggang masabi ko muli sa simula't dulo ng hangganan, na habangbuhay akong iibig.

Hanggang sa matanggap ko muli, sa simula't dulo ng hangganan, na balang araw, darating ka rin.

"Sana'y Naging Mahiwaga" Hindi alintana sa aking isip, na sana, ika'y naging mahiwaga.

At ninuma'y, sana magbigay mahal ako muli, at sana'y makaalis, sa pansamantalang damdamin.

At kung ako ma'y mawalan ng buhay, ako ay masaya na, sapagkat natuto akong magmahal, ng mahiwagang sana'y naging ikaw.

"Oras ng Isang Araw" (Gabi) Hinihintay kita mula sa huli kaya hindi ba nakapagtatakang lungkot ay 'di mawala'y sa gabi kahit alam kong bingi ang sarili sa sarili ngunit alalahanin mong ika'y una kong nakausap nang lumiwanag ang buwan sinimulan sa huli ang tulang isinulat at alam ko'y dumating 'to sa'yong tabi. upang makapiling ka sa paglubog ng araw tanong kung saan, sagot ng bakit, sabi ng sarili ay nagpaparaya ang lungkot ngunit sabi mo'y walang sagot kung kailan kailan ka darating?

(basahin paitaas)

"Burdens" I often liken myself to a typhoon, because my emotions might wreak havoc to the people I love. but I'm just a victim of my own mind too, for my silence isn't the same as the calmness in my eye. and now I ask - am I a dead weight? or am I holding burdens I somehow can't release?

"Words" When will words ever be enough, for a pen so dry, but never runs out?

Words of you and for you, from a pen so dark, but filled with light.

Words that will never be enough, but will never ignite.

"Authors" I was once a poem you were the author of, and it spoke of a love that was.

But now that I am the author, and you are the poem, mine speaks of a love that is.

You see, we are both poems we are authors of, but now, we're trying to write our own.

Coffee isn’t for everyone after all.

For some, it’s the bitterness that crawls to their minds. And for others, it’s the sweet scent that lingers around love.

"Inside My Mind" My mind is a powerful thing, so I often forget the things that I have.

But I think of things that I can't have, so my mind think they're mine.

And most of the times, I think of you.

"Maroon Skies" Sunset has passed, the sun is below the horizon, nighttime is coming at last, a scene of my own obsession.

Above are shades of maroon, night's gonna be lit, they said there's nothing better than the moon, But you're far better than it.

"In the Next Lifetime" Starry nights rule the sky, like how your soul rules my mind.

Calm but bright, and just like stars in the sky, you have all my attention.

So even if you shine from a distance, somehow, I can reach you, although far away, but yours.

And if I'm yours even from a distance, will you ever be mine, even in the next lifetime?

"Shallow" Your eyes speak the things you love, and I love the way they look.

Although it may seem shallow at first, but I will find you, And I'd swim to that hidden part of yours, for the most shallow reason I could think of Because it's you.

"Fireflies" We all want someone to give us light, but at times, we shall ask, are we someone whose soul is lit by fireflies?

Or can we be a firefly in another one's soul?

"Novel" Behind you is a soul in awe, of a novel of love, sweet and raw, a novel that opens before it is read, and in the cover - the novel's flaw.

But that matters not, my novel, critique me as I critique you, and I will be your best critic, for I tell no lies when I speak of you.

For you are a novel of love, a sensory of a fragile soul - but loved, to be loved by me, is a soul unready, but a soul too free.

But your novel is yours alone, and as I've read what you've written, I never found my name, never of me, nor of us alone.

"Martyrs" When will I ever know how to smile without regrets? to love without dying, will I ever know how?

To dream without sleeping, that's an everyday lie, my tears will be yours, I know you'll never be mine.

But I'll love you still anyway, although I don't know how, maybe today is the day, that my tears will drown.

All the fears that I have, still, I'll love you somehow, my tears will be loved, martyrs die anyway.

"Mystery" Writing about you is not easy, because your eyes speak nothing that I know.

Not a glimpse nor a sight, of whatever secrets you have there, hidden.

Outside my window, and inside the doors of your mystery where you will hopefully let me in someday.

"Existence" Your mere existence alone means you’ve been a light to others.

Like a star in their sky, you exist in a world, where you're someone else's light.

"Eye of the Storm" Good days may not be visible, while the rain keeps on falling.

But in the midst of the blur, try to seek comfort in the eye of your storm.

Where everything is calm, and you are under control.

"Rainbow" Your eyes shed tears, every once in a while, and that's okay.

You are like a rainbow.

And sometimes, your beauty comes after the rain.

"The Little Things" When we were young, we were made to believe that life is perfect.

But it isn't after all, and it is pointless to believe that it is.

But pointless things have a place in the world, too.

"Dim Light" Whenever I look at you, I see light.

But there are times when you are dim, And I realized — that there's no need to always look strong, Because there are times, when we all need healing.

"Color Palette" Our lives are more than the shades of our favorite colors, It is more than sunshines and moonlit skies, Because our souls contain a palette full of colors, painted throughout our lives.

"Time" Your presence alone is already a gift to others.

So more than anything, don't forget to give yourself your time.

You deserve it all.

"Light in the Mundane" Everything seems routine when locked in the mundane, 'til I saw a leaf float in the air.

Then adored how the wind made it sway, slowly - and a lot more sideways, before it finally fell to the ground.

As if I'm seeing an illusion, that gives light to the mundane, a mundane made magical with you.

"Safe Spaces" You live with a mind that lingers in doubt, perhaps in the midst of it all.

The thoughts inside are contained 'cause you're trying to smile, in the hopes of hiding it all.

Yet there is a place where the endings won't end you, perhaps, where there are safe spaces around.

SALITANG TULONG has raised

Php 21,862.50 for the victims of #ulyssesPH in Luzon

Thank you for your kindness!

all will be alright in time.

Artworks by sketchify. onewhystudio. patrimonio. beaandbloom. julia dreams. armokay. deemakdaksina. vintage illustrations. marketplace designers. olenasiedykh

Written and designed by Joaquin Enrique Arig