Defiance

 twisted mask, ugly mask

how dare you wreak havoc in my soul?

how can menace

malice

spite

come with a gentle smile?

 

sarcastic mask, cold mask

how dare you laugh in other's pain?

how dare you propagate

and take pleasure

in people's fall?

 

you unforgiving, malicious mask

i opened my heart to you

saying, 'you're just a pitiful kid'

but you stretched it

and bruised it

and you maligned it

and poisoned it

with your words

with what you do

with how you treat

those dear to me

HOW DARE YOU?

 

you hypocritical mask, you twisted mask

how could you call betrayal loyalty?

how could you call the truth a lie?

how could you say that what you do is good

when you do it with lights off and locked doors?

how could you destroy what i love so well?

how could you not let me relish the work of my hands?

how could you attempt to break my spirit?

how could you try to imprison my mind, telling me to simply follow?

how could you clip our wings and push us off the cliff to fly?

how could you want to benefit 

from the sweat and blood of people

and chain their feet and hands

telling their minds, 'you won't go anywhere without me'?

 

HOW DARE YOU!!!

 

you stupid, stupid person

how can you not see?

how can you not know what you're doing?

how can you not feel?

how can you push me so much

and slowly tear me apart?

is this how you kill dreams?

is this how you steal ambitions?

is this how you destroy minds?

 

you pathetic, selfish man

the world does not revolve around you

you can only take so much

and i can only give so much

you keep on collecting debts

from people who owe you nothing

you pathetic, pathetic man

how can you even live with yourself?

you said you made a promise

and that you followed it through

what promise? 

well i made a promise too,

and i'll make sure to follow it through:

i will not be destroyed.

 

you pathetic, pitiful child

how do i show you compassion?

how can i stop you from breaking me 

without hardening my heart?

how do i keep on giving without lacking?

how can i stand the way you treat my friends,

without my heart growing calloused?

 

please don't smile at me

because i don't know what that smile means

please don't laugh

because i don't know the cost of that laugh

please don't say nice things to me

because i don't know if they're sincere

 

for now,

i'll let you reap my tears

if only to save my heart

i'll let you win this battle

if only to win the war

i'll let you delight in our weakness

if only for us to know

that

WE

ARE

TRULY 

STRONG. 

 

***

 

We are pressed down on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed but not in despair;

persecuted but not abandoned;

struck down but not destroyed.

- 2 Corinthians 4:8

 

You will not have to fight this battle.

Take up your positions; stand firm 

and see the deliverance the Lord will give you...

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged

Go out to face them tomorrow

and the Lord will be with you.

- 2 Chronicles 10:17

 

FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS THE ONE

WHO GOES WITH YOU TO FIGHT

FOR YOU AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES

TO GIVE YOU VICTORY.

- Deuteronomy 20:4

FOR SURE, WE WILL OVERCOME.

Bloom Where You're Planted

"Bloom where you're planted."

Do you remember this?

It was Dr. Fundador who said this during a dorm visit.

She said she'd wanted to be a doctor but she can't because funds were low so instead she pursued a different track, as an educator and her success story is she was able to pursue a PhD, found her passion and became the directress of one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, and 'til date she is continuing to be an educator and I don't think she regretted anything.

Do you remember this?

Do you remember the times when things seemed bleak? When we were starting college, we did not know which way to go? You did not know which college you're attending, i was not sure if i was doing the right thing.

Do you remember 4th year (for me) and 5th year (for you) college? We weren't sure if we were graduating because of uncooperative data? But we did, you even had latin honors to go with it.

Do you remember the times of painfully waiting? Waiting for that next job to come, waiting for things to happen, waiting for things to unfold? Do you remember how it hurt each night, thinking, "is this all there is." Do you remember how uncertain we were of the great, "what now?"

Do you remember how we felt rejected at times? How inadequate and low we felt of ourselves? Do you remember how we felt ugly and unworthy? How we felt less...simply less?

But do you remember, how we surmounted them all? How we crushed all naysayers and purged that little insecure voice within us? Do you remember how we killed lions and bears in anticipation of the giants; and climbed hills, knowing that somewhere along the way we will be facing mountains?

Do you remember how we screamed, "Aja!!!" and said, "No! Hindi ako papayag!" ?

Do you remember when we told our dreams, "Come to me!!! I claim you!!!"?

Do you remember how we laughed at the face of complications and problems saying, "at least, things won't get boring!" and sometimes even saying, "Okay, it's time to level up!"

Do you remember when we said, "ang bumangga giba!" ?

Do you remember how we said that we are the Joshua generation? We are claiming Canaan though Moses wasn't able to cross it.

Do you remember how we said that we are Caleb, we will devour the giants? And on the day that we walk Canaan, we would say, "I am still strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then." I am made for this!

Do you remember how we held on and screamed and ran and fought?

Do you remember that we are warriors and fighters and Nehemiah?  

Do you remember how we watched our dreams come to pass because of the Lord's grace?

Do you remember how we were overwhelmed when the Lord showed us that nothing goes to waste, even tears and pain? 

I hope you remember because

Fact is: we have never been of those who shrink back and grow weak.

Fact is: we have always managed to pick ourselves up and face things head on.

Fact is: we have always risen, and we will rise again.

Fact is: we have always wanted to finish strong.

Fact is: we have always been water-walkers.

Fact is: we have always looked up.

Fact is: we have always been Queen Esther, somewhere deep inside.

Fact is: though some may not be facts, we will make them facts.

Fact is: we have never been roses - too delicate that it needed thorns.

Because, Truth is: we have always been lilies.

We have always grown no matter the circumstance.

Even Solomon's robes are no match to the beauty of the lilies.

And it just so happens, the most beautiful lilies grow in muddy and murky waters.

And it just so happens that that's where we're in now. LOL! =p

=)

i may not be fire

passionate, all-consuming

but i think

i am a rushing river

constant, ever-flowing

nothing blocks a river's way

stones or dirt

it pushes through

until it meets the ocean

the great unknown

the great source

the great gathering

 

i may not be fire

rapid, over-the-top

but the silent hum

of the gushing waters

speaks

silence

and quiet confidence

that no matter what

the river will go

on its course

and things will happen 

as they should

and it will reach its destination

 

i may not be fire

causing things to bubble over

but i may be water

calm and steadfast

refreshing 

soothing

with wells 

and wells

of inner strength

 

you can try killing rivers

cover them up with dirt

but water, it will trickle somewhere

it will spring out sometime

it will gather its strength

and come back 

as a flood