May Bago Kana!

Naaalala mo pa ba? Nung parehas tayong nagtampisaw sa musika
Naaalala mo pa ba? Nung parehas tayong takot na malayo sa isa't isa
Naaalala mo pa ba? Nung binitawan mo ang mga salitang tumatak sa damdamin nating dalawa
Naaalala mo pa ba? Nung lumisan kang walang paalam pero sinubukan kong habulin ka
Naaalala mo paba? Siguro hindi na.


Hindi ko alam kung pa'no tayo dinala ng musika sa pagitan ng "ikaw at ako"
Walang kasiguraduhan kung liliko ba o dediretso
Teka.. MagKA-ibigan paba tayo? Bakit parang Magka-IBIGAN na nga tayo?


Tumigil ang mundo nang sinabi mong ako'y mahal mo
Medyo napaisip ako.. Bakit ako?


Hindi ako maporma kung manamit
Aaminin ko ako'y pangit
Pero ako hahawak ng gitara at sabay tayong aawit
Sabay tayong kakanta hanggang sa tayo'y mangawit


Ang kalangita'y maliwanag
Sing liwanag ng dalawang pusong lumulundag
Lumulundag sa saya't pagmamahal
Na para bang wala na ngang makakapaghiwalay

Sana nga ay huwag nang matapos
Kahit na ang bawat kanta'y may wakas
Umaaasa parin sa wagas
Pinipilit huwag kumalas
Sa mga pangakong iyong ibinigkas

Pero, sa sobrang ganda ng ating awit
Hindi ko na inisip
Na maaari palang managinip nang hindi nakapikit


Gumising ka, gumising ka sa katotohanang wala nga palang tayong dalawa
Gumising ka, gumising ka at iniwan mo akong nag-iisa
Hinanap kita! Hinanap kita sa kalagitnaan ng aking panaginip
Pinipilit kong gumising pero patuloy ang pagsilip
Ng mga larawan nyong dalawa na para bang kayo lang ang masaya..


Eto ako ngayon.. Nakatitig sa inyong dalawa
Sobrang lungkot at parang wala nang gamot
Gabi gabing balisa, basa ang mga unan at araw-araw na nayayamot
Pinipilit bumangon sa pagkalugmok


May bago kana, mukhang matalino sya
May bago kana, sa bagay.. Maitsura sya
May bago kana, dahil nag-iba na ang kanta
May bago kana at bagay kayong dalawa





Original Content Poetry by
Seagull
(you may follow Seagull's  twitter: @daeimnidaa)

Covid19, Kelan Ka Lilipas?

Ano ba'ng nangyari?

Waring lahat ay nagbago, sa isang iglap.
Subalit sa bawat sulok nitong tahanan nami'y walang pinagbago.


Ang kasaysayan, muli na naman bang mauulit?
Pandemyang, ngayo'y lumalaganap sa panahong 'di inaasahan, ni sa hinagap
ito'y magaganap.


Ngunit ang nakakalungkot... gamot at lunas ay sadya pang mailap

Sa kabilang panig naman, unti-unting luminis ating kalikasan
Dulot niyaon ay magandang balita sa likas-na-yaman
Maging nang mga hayop at ng mga halaman

Ako rin baga, ay naiinip na!
Naiinip na! pati mga tao, sa bagal ng oras

Madalas na itanong sa likod ng isipan
"Gaano pa katagal bago ka lilipas?"
Maraming araw na ang nagwakas, sa isip at diwa'y matapos na kaya ito bukas?


Sino ba ang nakakaalam anong dulo nito?
Ni ang kahihitnan nating lahat, nitong paligid at nang buong sanlibutan Lahat ay nakabinbin, naghihintay, nag-aabang.
Kelan ka magwawakas, Covid-19?




® Poetry by
James Riazo

A Paradigm Within A Paradigm

There is an old piece of advice: when handed a sword, never grab it by the blade. Hold it by the handle—the only place designed not to wound you. The lesson seems obvious, almost too literal to linger on. But like most ancient metaphors, it survives because it applies far beyond the battlefield.

In everyday life, many of us still reach for the blade.

We hold onto situations from the wrong end—conflicts, disappointments, even opportunities—gripping them in ways that hurt us while wondering why we keep bleeding. We interpret setbacks as endings instead of instruments. We treat difficulties as curses rather than tools that require different handling. The object is not always the problem; sometimes it is the way we choose to grasp it.

For Filipinos especially, this metaphor resonates quietly. Life, for many, is not arranged for comfort. Traffic, economic uncertainty, family obligations, migration, the constant balancing act between personal dreams and collective responsibilities—these are not theoretical challenges. They are daily negotiations. And yet, time and again, people find ways to turn hardship into leverage. A delayed opportunity becomes a different path. A financial struggle becomes discipline. A painful separation becomes motivation to rebuild.

What changes is not the object itself, but the grip.

The poet Mary Oliver once wrote, “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” The line unsettles at first. Darkness rarely feels like generosity. But over time, the idea reveals something deeper: that perspective is often the most powerful tool we possess. A difficult season, when handled carefully, can sharpen awareness, deepen empathy, and clarify direction. What once felt like injury becomes instruction.

Even centuries earlier, the strategist Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, suggested a similar truth: that victory often depends less on brute strength than on understanding terrain—knowing where to stand, when to move, and how to use what is already present. Not every battle is fought with weapons. Many are fought with interpretation.

This applies as much to relationships as it does to ambition. The same criticism that wounds one person motivates another. The same failure that discourages someone can train another in resilience. The difference lies not in the event, but in the posture taken toward it. We can grasp the blade and suffer, or hold the handle and learn to wield what was once intimidating.

“Lahat ng bagay,” as we often say, “puwedeng nating gamitin toward our advantage—depende kung paano mo titingnan.” That isn’t naïve optimism. It is a practical philosophy born from necessity. When circumstances cannot always be changed, interpretation becomes strategy.

Perhaps this is why some of the most quietly successful people are not those who avoided hardship, but those who learned how to handle it properly. They do not deny the difficulty. They simply refuse to hold it in a way that guarantees injury.

Life will continue to place unfamiliar tools in our hands—situations we did not ask for, responsibilities we did not plan, challenges that feel heavier than expected. The question is rarely whether we will encounter the sword. The question is how we will hold it.

Grip the blade, and it cuts. Hold the handle, and it becomes something else entirely—

not just something that can defend you, but something that can help you move forward.

--Othello

@billymacdeus (Instagram)

@macdeuz (Facebook Page)

Space We Can Recover, Time Never

I am sure you know who popularized this quote. Pero sa dinami-rami ng nababasa natin sa newsfeed sa FB and other social media platforms on a daily basis, it is wise to filter and feed our minds. Yaong mga posts na kapupulutan natin ng aral.

Mga post na magsisilbing gabay mo sa tamang pakikipaglakbay dito sa mundo, at magsisilbing sandata mo rin upang mas madali mong marating ang gusto mong marating sa buhay na íto.

@billymacdeus (Instagram)

@macdeuz (Facebook Page)

Weak People Never Give Way When They Ought To

Something to ponder upon these days - "weak people never give way when they ought to", whereas, survival of the fittest is quite applicable as we traverse in this pandemic.


Analyzing this thought-process deeper, so if weak people can do that, how much more for the strong ones?

What does it take to command that sheer will-power to un-tame the downhill effect?

@billymacdeus (Instagram)

@macdeuz (Facebook Page)