LORD PLS

P RAY ERS FROM A REA L WORLD • BY ALA N NAVA RRA • MATURE READERS

SAMP LER

..................................................................................... sa ngalan ng ama ng anak, ng kaibigan, kasiping at nagmamahal sa liwanag at dilim sa ngalan ng pag-ibig ng pagkaing pang araw-araw ng good manners, moral standing, and right conduct sa ngalan ng pagkaligtas ng kaluluwa ng katotohanang kinagisnan ng hustisya para sa biktima ng karahasan sa ngalan ng sakada ng haciendera, terrorista, biktima ng bayani, diktadura, alta, at masa at sa ngalan ng espiritu santo and the life everlasting amen

A. PRAIZE .....................................................................................

1. WE REJOICE O MASTER (The Lord Needs To Know That He Is The Lord And That We Are Really Happy About It) ..................................................................................... i rejoice for the lord is near he has come to save the nations he has come to spread love against fear i rejoice for the lord despises nothing he has made he is merciful and will spare his people his presence will be our shield against evil i rejoice for i will be welcomed in his house of light and why not? everywhere else hurts: dito, everybody’s dead on the inside dito, they eat food na nakamamatay dito, there’s chibog that takes away your alindog

dito, they make tawa at jokes from pedophile tv hosts dito, nobody’s smiling and they smell of dirty vapor rub and post-workout singit dito, they make patol to kaungasan sa facebook comments section their names are spelled backwards and their best friends are family lies and high school regrets kaya i rejoice for i am welcome on the mountain that shines and when the lord finally comes down all debts will be cleared for his love is fire his love is near though i rejoice i am also afraid because, to be honest, lord sometimes, you’re not around

sometimes, humanity is basura sometimes, not everybody deserves forgiveness sometimes, everyone deserves to die sometimes the world is too maingay sometimes, it’s too magulo and full of sakim sometimes, nakakabaliw na ang daming babayaran eh hindi ko naman ginustong maging breadwinner pero siyempre kailangang maging responsable kailangan daw pasanin ang mundo kailangang magbigay kahit hindi mo ito hiningi and that is why i have to stay alive i am just being a good son trying to be a better human a better patapon a better alipin ng sistema a better isip dukha kaya i rejoice in the ways of the one, in the name of he who rules he, the giver of all

because i must kasi if i die and i find out na wala palang heaven or wala palang jesus or virgin mary na nakalutang or anghel na nagtotorotot walang halo at mga cherubim na naghaharutan sa clouds utang na loob, magpapaka-hudas for a cause ako gagawin kong impiyerno ang pilipinas gagawin kong nuclear plant ang mga puwet ng sangkatauhan pag walang afterlife okay lord, ganito. sorry lord, lahat nang ito ay para sa iyo to the best of my knowledge and feelings because i believe because i know you’re everywhere because all i can do is hope and pray pagod lang ako, okay? kasi minsan feeling ko talaga wala ka lalo na pag naiisip ko ang holocaust, apartheid ang massacre ng jonestown, sandy hook, at kidapawan nung nagka-stroke ang tatay ko

at nung nag-disband ang oasis at nagpakamatay si robin williams nasaan ka ba nung nangyari yun? kasi inassume ko na lang na may mas malaki ka pang priority tulad ng crisis sa multiverse or pag-intersect ng parallel dimensions or may planetang kinakain ang sarili so baka yun, busy ka lang pero, please ipasok mo naman ako sa schedule mo kaya i rejoice! o god lord jesus, peace on earth, are you there, please be there i love you amen

2. HAIL, HEIL ..................................................................................... all hail the king of kings lord of stuff and spirit the beginning of all ends all bow to the king sublime bringer of burden and blessing breaker of foe, faker, and friend all kneel to the holiest of kings builder and destroyer root of will and malas and consequence all hail, all hail redeemer and ragnarok, reverse-apocalyptist batmanest of all mankind manifestation of the daddiest-of-all-daddy issues the one who wields true power over suffering through suffering the one who knows how worthy you are to die in his light

the one who heals and peels your heart’s wounds the one who commands triumph and sacrifice the life-father the giving son and the holy spirit of passive-aggressive and nontaxable guidance the angels, the virgins the mountains, the oceans all the puppies and red pandas all things warm and selfless like love, light, and hope good tasteful art and music that elevates mankind even suka pop culture that brings people together and especially free will, reincarnation, and time creator and creation deliverer from damnation the king of kings all hail, all hail

3. WE AND I ARE ONE (Lahat Maganda, Lahat Pangit, Lahat Ng Nabubuhay One Day Mamamatay) ..................................................................................... we and i are one godkind and slaveblood crownslayer and queen mother master-of-the-eye and dirtfeeder buried and risen nuriel and nephilim moses and mammon beelzebub, baradiel astaroth, azrael kian and bato leni and marcelino ferdinand and ninoy maya and domingo elias and barnes alex and spartacus verdelet and vehuel leviathan and dumah we and i are one all are heroes

all are villains all will die all will live again all are trying all are broken all are missing a piece all are searching all are angry all bleed hate all are racists all are prejudiced some are just at the wrong end of a gun but all will find their way to a funeral under the sun amen

4. GOOD MORNING TO ME (My Time Is All The Time) ..................................................................................... may this day be a happy and peaceful day for everyone may it be full of joy, hope, love, and respect especially for me for we must celebrate the feast of “May Natitirang Hope Pa Pala For Humanity� for this i pray for everyone i meet today: mga bata, matanda, maganda, at pangit lalo na mga pangit sana huwag nila sirain araw ko mga salbahe at siga mga hindi nagre-reply sa text at sa sext mga ayaw tumawid ng gender gap sana huwag nila sirain araw ko mga sawi, mga feeling sawi mga lasing, adik, at utak-pobre mga mata-pobre, ugaling-burnik, at tamad sana huwag nila sirain araw ko

it is for our sake that we must reflect on millions of years of human kaululan and how we’ve managed to almost destroy everything we’ve touched we must reflect on how we still keep touching, fondling, and twiddling with them and crushing them with the over-weight of our despair in the hopes that through ignorance and selfishness we can still find truth and meaning forgiveness, purpose and kayamanan and kiliti in this thing called life anyways shout out sa mga may panata at sa mga always na naniniwala sa faith, love for all mankind, hallelujah af sana huwag nila sirain araw ko amen tayo nang amen panindigan naman natin pls amen

THAT’S IT FOR NOW Like what you’ve read so far? Amen. Watch out for the full version of LORD PLS to be published by Visprint.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alan Navarra is a writer and art director from Bacolod City, Philippines, who has spent the last ten years working in Manila as an advertising creative.

He wrote and designed Girl Trouble, a nominee for the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award in 2009 and Sacada, a finalist for the Design Category in the 2012 National Book Awards. He currently lives in Makati, making stuff happen.

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR: Girl Trouble, Dumot, Ang Panlimang Alas Ay Nakabaon Sa Iyong Dibdib, Sacada Previews of these books are at issuu.com/arnavarra FOLLOW ALAN ON SOCIAL: facebook.com/arnavarra.ph twitter.com/arnavarra instagram.com/arnavarra tinyletter.com/lordplsibigaymona

sa ngalan n g am a n g an ak , n g kaib igan , kas ipin g at n ag m a m a h al s a liw an ag at d ilim sa n g a lan n g pag-ib ig n g p a g k ain g pan g ar aw -ar aw n g go o d m a n n ers , m o r al s tan d in g, an d r igh t con d uct sa n g a l a n n g pagkaligtas n g kaluluw a n g k a t ot oh a n an g kin agis n an n g h us tis y a p a r a sa bi k tim a n g kar ah as an at sa n g a l a n n g es pir itu s an to a n d t h e lif e e ver las tin g am en