You have not known what you are.
You have slumbered upon yourself all your life.
Your eyes have been as much as closed most of the time.
What you have done is already in mockeries.

The mockeries are not you.
Underneath them
And within them,
I see you lurk...


-Walt Whitman



4.10.08

the painting on the wall


I WAS THAT BIRD.

the one above the azure blue sky,

hovering over the world you created;

beneath vast expanse of water

and rocks you painted with your small hands.


you were that bird.

the one on the sandy shore

watching waves of true love,

drinking water of unkept promises,

living this perfect world created by brush strokes.

i was that bird.


the one high above the clouds

that doesn’t look down nor dare to close its wings

afraid that he might fall;

scared he’s flying his last flight.

you were that bird.


the one that waits for the other to come down.

drinking the colors that flooded your palette

eating dreams you thought were real.

you should’ve eaten bird seeds.

i was that bird


savoring the air beneath those wings;

addicted to the air you breathed

lost in the overwhelming dream

and a slave to the truth that broke our hearts.

we were those birds


who lived in the perfect world of rocks and seas,

made colorful by lies, fear, uncertainties

immortalized by time, frozen by words

locked away with keys of nostalgia and regret.


we were those birds.

souls drawn from reality

into a world where time doesn’t exist.

painted into a canvas of ‘what could’ve been’s

and protected by a thick glass of ‘what if’s.


we were those birds

and now were nothing close to flying,

wings broken in an attempt to fly against the winds

trying to find our safe haven

towards the shore we never reached.


we were those birds,

and now we crawl as time flies high above us

and as the world decay beneath our feet.

memories hidden within the barriers of a heart

well kept, silently humming, covered in dust.


. . .

original artwork by len len, watercolor on canvas, 10” x 15”, dated december 1, 2003.


. . .

how this tag works:

1. Write a poem or an inspiring line based on a photo of your choice. This photo can be your own, or someone else’s. (If the picture is not yours, please ask permission from the owner when you post it, or better yet, provide only the link to the picture that inspired you, without posting it.)

2. Your poem or inspiring line may be of any length, and any genre. It can be humorous, sentimental, heart-warming, whatever. You may write in Ilokano, English or Filipino.

3. Post your inspiring line in your blog and in the comment section of this page (or just a link to your post so we could go and check it there). For poetry submissions, please indicate if you wish your piece to be posted in Bilingual Pen as an article submission.

4. The goal of this game is to get us to write, and express our thoughts and emotions.

i'm tagging tinay, salingpusa, and green mangoes :)

thanks ice and ely for the tag :)

33 comments:

onatdonuts said...

wow wow...

ang lalim naman talaga ng parekoy. Mantakin mo yun sa isang simpleng obra maestra nakagawa ka ng panibagong obra maestra...isa kang henyo...napakahusay na PO-ET hehe

ibang klase ka talaga magsulat, puno ng puso.


-----------------

salamat nga pala sa comment mo sa huli kong post..tama naman observation mo. alm kong may malasakit pa rin yung tatay sa kanyang anak. Kailangan lang niyang lunukin ang pride niya which is very hard for him to do. ;-)

salamat ulit..

Anonymous said...

uy may bagong poem si poetic ron :)

Kape Kanlaon\ said...

the first line said you were that bird.. and i thought it's that bird that's standing at the shore...but i was wrong..hehe
nice ung painting, promise.

Kape Kanlaon\ said...

sorry ngayon pa ako nakareply sa comment mu..heheh

@Ron:
Thanks naman at nagustohan mu tong post.. shattered pieces na bah ang puso mo? sorry, cge ibibili kita ng rugby. pagdikit-dikitin nalng natin. gusto mu ung scented na rugby or hindi scented? ehehehe

---
cge excited na ako to read your horror stories.. i am also planning to make an Xmas crime story. Yun kasi lagi binabasa ko when I was on college.

Kris Canimo said...

Hey there. Ex link tayo. :)
Na add na po kita :)

RedLan said...

galing naman pag interpret ng painting into a poem. napaka special naman si len len.

. said...

Pwede ka ba namin i-recruit sa emo-collective. Hehehe.

KRIS JASPER said...

So you are a bird? I have a bird (lol)... We are all birds...

lol.

Nice ron, very serious ah, hmmm... di kaya ng mind ko to... mabuti na lang at ang first aid kit nasa tabi ko while reading this. hahaha!!!

Bryan Anthony the First said...

long legged kang bird ka ha!

:-)
woof~

Boying Opaw said...

wow! kay lenlen. at sa lines na gawa galing sa gawa niya.

it's not really poetry but they are lines, too. hehe:

do you suffer from lots of memory lost? i can't remember.

http://crisisofnerves.blogspot.com/2008/10/6th-study-on-fractals-memory-loss.html

mrs.j said...

im gud kmsta k n din? mgtwilight n bet mo b sia?

The Dork One said...

hey ron i voted for your entry on e[kwento]mo good luck!!

pusangkalye said...

anu yung tag Ron? parang diko lam. You don't have to say TY because I am also very thankful. Blogging is not just about self, it's about growing with other bloggers. We all try to reflect on each other experiences/ stories. I am glad you are around......

pusangkalye said...

Ron---magagalit kaba sakin kung diko patulan tong tag u? please....pass on this one. I really donno how to write a poem. pls. pls.

Anonymous said...

this is a new way to tag people :P

Anonymous said...

hi. great work!

theNOTcrack said...

the harsh realities in life...




pa-exlinks ha...

Spot a Leopard said...

U created the Poem? Pretty Nostalgic, btw, You've been Tagged, Enjoy :-)

http://shurikenstuff.blogspot.com/2008/10/isnt-it-weird.html

Anonymous said...

interesting tag! i've read some answers on other blogs and it really brings out poets in people.

Ely said...

Thanks for doing the tag! nice poem, makes you a certified poet!

I thought that's ur painting. Frustrated painter kasi ako. hehehe.

Anonymous said...

may nagtag din sakin nito.. haha.. hindi ko lang alam kung pano ko sisimulan.. haha


kung naging teacher kita sa literature at creative writing malamang araw araw akong papasok sa klase mo..

xoxo ron.

lucas said...

Onat: thanks for the compliments mo mate. hindi mo lang pinakabog ang puso ko muntik mo pa ako paiyakin! hahahaha! peace out! :)

Josh marie: thanks for visiting, josh marie :)

Lance: hahaha! hindi ako heart broken. hehe! pero penge narin ng rugby. nasira din yung isa kong sapatos eh. hehe! pwede yung scented? haha!

excited na nga magsulat ng horror. hehe! kaw din. hintayin ko yung sayo!

ang ganda nung painting noh? pareho kami painter ni len len dati. mas gamay niya watercolor, mas gusto ko acrylic. hehe!

ako yung nasa taas. hehe!

thanks, mate:)

prostetitue: linked you already. btw, may entry rin ako dun sa Emo writing contest... pano yun? hehe! hindi naman yata ako allowed bumoto. hehehe!

Redlan: thanks for the compliment, mate :) i appreciate it :)

peace out!

Mugen: emo-collevtive? sure! hehe! emo nga talaga siguro ako. hehe!

peace out!

KJ: hahaha! nagkaron ako ng premonition na eto yung sasabihin mo. hahaha! i have to agree... we all have birds, tweeting and flying everywhere! haha!

Bryan: yeah. i'm a long-legged bird! twit*twit*..hehehe!

Boying: aheheh! thanks for the compliments, mate:) i have to admit, i suffer from short-term memory loss... nag-uulyanin na yata ako. hehehe! memory some says is a symptom of perverted anger. hehehe! wala lang. hahaha!

peace out!

Mrs.j: ok lang din ako. hehehe! hindi ko gets yung tanong mo?=--"mgtwilight n bet mo b sia?"

yung movie na twilight?

Alex: wow..thanks for voting for me :) i almost forgot na may entry pala ako dun! hehehe! maraming marming salamat po :)

Salingpusa: sige ok lang. hehe! hindi naman kailangang poem eh. kahit quotations lang... a line or two. pero ok lang i just thought it's cool with you.

i'm learning from the others here too. i'm also grateful

peace out!

Gwen: cool tag, ayt? 

Eli: thanks! talaga? agriculturist ka pala... so pure talent talaga! lupit mo tsong! hehe! sa father's side ko na lang yung buhay unfortunately... wala kang bagong post?

Journicler: linked you already, mate

Shurikenstuff: thanks for the tag mate :) really interesting tag... :)

Acey:
yeah. tags make blogging so much fun and interesting :)

ely: sure, mate :) hays.. madami talaga tayong frustrations sa buhay. frustrated photographer nman ako. hehehe!

Ferbert: kung estudyante kita, magreresign ako! Hahaha! Joke! Thanks, honestly… goodluck on your poem. I have a hunch na comedy yung sayo! Hehehe!

Anonymous said...

im happy that you are versing :) where is she? is this another unsent poem? :)


---

the recent poem in patadyong is for this tag of yours, ron. :)

Looking For The Source said...

galing galing!

galing tlga!

ha ha!

Joaqui said...

This one is indeed nice. Keep it up! Nice to see poems in the blogsphere. :)

Kape Kanlaon\ said...

@Ron:
whew! You finally admitted it! EMo ka nga! heheh But see? You're doing good in all your emo posts. That's the point. It's never a bad thing to be an emo, well, according to what kind of emo you are though.
Ditto on loosing hope!

--

hehe.. ipaayos mu nalng kay Manong repair man yung sapatos mo! Bili ka nang rugby sa may tindahan, tapos lagay mu sa plastic, pwesto ka sa tabi ng daan. Yun, pwede ka na maging adik! hehehe joke..

wala pa aking idea kong anong horror post ko.. cge pag-iisipan ko maigi ito..=)

hindi ako makarelate sa terms kasi i was never a painter. kahit simpling drawing hindi ko nga makaya-kaya.hehe

thanks din bro!

Toni said...

bro? emo mode ka rin?joke!
well, nice naman ng poem - definitely coming from within.punong puno ng emotions. Keep it up and thanks sa advices mo ha!? :)

theNOTcrack said...

again, thanks for the link!

'll be back later...

KRIS JASPER said...

I just voted for your post... good luck!

lucas said...

Tinay: the poem? nope. i just tried to decipher the cryptic painting she gave me :)

Looking for the source: thanks, mate for the compliment :)

Joaqui: thanks, mate :)

Lance: hehe! oo nga...pero hindi ako suicidal ha? hehehe! but i think emo fashion and music is cool :) nako kung ganun, bibili na lang ako ng sapatos. hehehe!may naisip nako kaya lang hindi ko masulat... hehe!ok lang yun...thanks, mate :)

Toni: nagsalita ang hindi emo... hehe! joke! thanks, mate :)

Journicler: nagsalita ang hindi emo... hehe! joke! thanks, mate :)

KJ: thanks for your support KJ! TOINK! Hehe!

RedLan said...

ito nagmamasid kung may bagong post. medyo nakahinga sa trabaho kaya ginutom ako na makabasa ng mahabang post. kelan ka kaya magpakain ng inspiring story>? joke. nangungulit lang.pasensiya.

Chyng said...

haha sbe na nga ba, kinareer mo ang tag ni ice!

nice poem!

lucas said...

redlan: i'll be posting soon :)

chyng: aehehe! oo nga! kinareer ko nga. ehehe!