NU-Manila: Literary/Pampanitikan

The National – Literary Department

Weekly Posting

Solitude and Individualism: At Times I Need to be Alone

Literary Editor: Gabriel Lloyd Malinay

Pluto
A poem of Gab Malinay

I am Pluto,
I embodied Pluto:
The distant.
They said I exploded,
But I didn’t.
I was always the distant
The farthest-
Until they discovered I didn’t belong.

Then, reclassified as dwarf:
Icy, mountainous, full of craters,
Has five moons
And reimagined.
But, I always enjoyed being away
To the sun, that bullies me
And to the planets that pulled me-
I love the way it is.

I was never alone
I was with the big stones
And with the same dwarf planets.
They were with me, while being pushed-
Away, far, they were with me
Until I felt
That being away
Is not bad at all.

080420|5:55 PM

Sweet Sanity Self
A poem of Ela Dionisio

To be alive or to act dead—
Two contrasting jobs of people,
For one must be like a magnet—
Sometimes attracts, sometimes repels.

Melancholic event comes support;
Though roughness leads to individuality.
A mirror given from above—stared;
My tear-stained pillow, diary, and home.

101020|9:18 PM

The Midnight Seclusion
A poem of Mia Borlongan

When the death of night became the haven of silence,
I opted to unveil the enticing mysteries-
Of a bewitching labyrinth where shadows being chased
Running through the maze and seeking for solace.

With thousands of barricades
I navigated the narrows while being trapped unexpectedly,
By the venomous group of snakes, a lethal society
And just like a stallion, I ran wild and furiously.

After the tragic journey out of grievances
I reached the ravines of glorious mess
Echoes brought the aroma of a quintessential peace
Full of whimpers as reality sank in me; no one survived the dead sea.

Yet, I smiled to the moon as its light gave me an alabaster-like skin
I shouted to the sky glimmers and asked for a blink
I stayed from afar to console the creases of the past
Cured the scars of oblivion
Scrutinized the beauty of solitary.

My shadow followed the illumination of life
Where hazy lies lost their hurting prowess
Alone as I embraced both my knees
No, I’m not lonely with my own company.

Stars are distant but they know me more than you
They always see my naked soul whenever I’m feeling blue
Like rainbows after the rain giving me a soft kind of hue
It wasn’t a sin to leave the catastrophe of toxicity
I escaped social rigidity before it strangled me.

After the grievances, I ended up in ravines of glorious mess
A consolation is temporary midnight seclusion
While sipping a coffee, a cup of nostalgia
To remove the prolonged thirst from the devastating world
Like an animal that hibernates when the universe is being cold.

101020|11:46 PM

Langit sa Maulang Gabi
Tula ni Karl Angelo Orcine

Palutang-lutang sa kawalan ng
liwanag ang isip, lunod sa
lalim ng isang maulang gabi—
sa lungkot at dusa, at pag-iisa.

Paulit-ulit na inilulublob ang mga mata
sa laksa-laksang luhang bumuo
sa karagatan ng mga nailatag na gunita
mula sa mga pagkakamali’t pagsisisi—
at pag-iisa.

Ikinukubli ng hindi matupi-tuping
kumot ang gusot na nagmarka ng mga
pilat sa puso; ng mga basang unan
ang mantsa ng pagkawala, pagkaligaw,
at pagtataksil ng buhay, at;
ng nilalanggam na baso ng kape
ang samyo ng lumipas na saya at mga
kapilas na alaala—
at pag-iisa!

Pilitin ma’t naising tumakas ng kalayaan,
kagandahan, o anumang kabutihan
sa pagkakapiit sa madilim na kuwarto,
hindi, dahil ang uyayi ng bawat pag-ulan
ay ang langit para sa mga gabi-gabi,
ginigising ng sariling takot at bangungot,
pagkakamali’t pagsisisi.

Ito ang paraisong kailangang mag-isang
babalik-balikan na kahit masakit, at
puno ng hinagpis at pasakit ay ang langit
para sa mga katawang palutang-lutang,
kaluluwang pakalat-kalat, walang hininga’t
walang buhay sa higaang naburo ng makailang
ulit na pagsuko at pagluha;

Itinakwil ng paparating na umaga,
sa pagbukas man ng namumugtong
mga mata, o sa pagbuga ng bawat
huling buntong-hininga.

101120|9:14 PM

A Poem of Aubrey Layese

Today, I am building a fort.
A stronghold of white, black and blue.
Tall and cold,
mimicking the idea of solitude

T’is a place I must protect
against the jovial noises around
and bask in the quietness,
I missed while dancing in glee.

I fear that it will soon crumble
because of the deafening vibrations
of the earth behind it,
slowly breaking my beloved fort.

But I will it to stand tall and gracious
like the silent ghost of yesterday
so when the sky turns dark
I have some place to stay

101220|5:04 PM