mahiwaga

isang pagkakataon lang… one chance only
minsan sa buhay… once in a lifetime

time like a rushing freight train
slamming into a concrete post
history is the unleashed fireball
turning the roadways into jelly

isang sandali lang… one brief moment only
ito na lang ang naiwan… this is all that is left
tahimik
stillness
at walang nagsasalita
silence

my soul shudders
bound beyond all reason
in this ever-shrinking prison
wrought with my own two hands
black iron encircling
the guards watch from the shadowy towers

hindi pa makahinto dito… we cannot stop here
hindi pa makapahinga ngayon… we cannot rest now

minsan lang sana maging totoo… if only once it could come true
ang mga nais, ang mga panaginip ko… my wishes, my dreams

in this moment
striding forth into that empty darkness
the space between spaces
the interstices, the watersheds
as dreams interrupt the waking hours
and who can say which is more real?