Syrell Doanne V. Nietes

Colorblind

Ara

I’ll tell you something— When those twinkling stars in your eyes would always get me, I am colorblind yet I can see how bright you are, Those storied eyes, prominent dimples on your cheek— Your eloquence makes me feel giddy, Or the way you’d always dazzle behind the limelight each time, I smiled; you gave me light.

I’ll tell you something— When you resemble everything that shines, Your gentle touch would always create magnificent hues, And when you held my hand—the spectrum grew brighter; dispersed in all directions, Yet all I see was light; nothing more, nothing less, “I am colorblind”, your brows furrowed, But an awfully familiar smile crept, As You held my hand tighter, I heaved a deep sigh, You have always found the things I could never see in myself.

I’ll tell you— Perhaps I’d be nothing without your existence, Just a mere transparent object with constant ends and sides, I’ll forever hold your hand—put all my worries away, I couldn’t wish for more than the hues you emit, So daring; indeed beautiful, I am your glass prism young lad, And You’ll always be my blinding light.

Sophrosyne

Angel Octoso

Phronesis

Overcome the Ravaging

Cherid M. Pariñal

Overcome the Ravaging by Cherid M. Pariñal Eyes awaken in a bleak square room. You greet the sun with a wry scowl. Flaky skin and inked eyelids damned with gloom An inkling of sleep accompanied by a stomach’s growl.

Creases indented beside both nerve-striated eyes Increased coffee shots in the bloodstream did nothing but heighten narcolepsy. Stricken with blows of anxiety, another day is faced with imminent soul cries. A virus ravages, encompassing the mind, creating acatalepsy.

Surmounting becomes harder to carry out. The brokenness is felt holistically As the dangers seek to hamper, take out. Lives quelled, livelihoods ceased, this catastrophe holds an alarming tally.

Underneath the flimsy mask is an anorexic yearning Yearning starved by the worldwide devastation and upheaval Which left hopes and dreams compelled in renouncing. Nooses hanging on porches consume dead bodies with evil.

One by one, humans hold reunions with the Maker Leaving their families devoid of recuperance. The invisible adversity resumes its venomous slither Making the world vehemently forget its balance.

Oh, how are we to regain consciousness from this nightmare? Remember His oath, symbolized by a bow of colors. Beyond the tumultuous thunderstorm is a bright, clear day with the sun’s glare. His overflowing grace is far greater than any overbearing remorse.

The dark-hued trials faced today Equips us of a stronger defense that can weather the sudden quakes. His indescribable purpose works in a bizarre way Holding absolute sway in our lives, His sovereignty erases traces of heartaches.

Believe! Receive His grace and surrender to His will and plans And experience a life unbound from earthly restraint. In His eternal home tinted with a prism’s hues There lies a safe haven, exchanging pleasure for any complaint.

In Between the Light and Dark

(Haikus on pandemic ruminations)

Hannah Jhanylle C. Po

I. Silence lives, pervades, Mirror madness closing in, Solitude at home.

II. Fields of masks and shields, All spread out six feet apart. New normal glimpses.

III. Virus mutated, Footsteps like an assassin, Spreading like wildfire.

IV. Unflinching, frozen, ‘Tis is limited bandwidth, A school of pauses.

V. The road is silent, Empty of beeps and mutters, Transportation ceased.

VI. Terror grips my veins, Positive mark unwanted, A threat unneeded.

VII. Breath shallow, painful, Heart rate steady, monitored, Are the only sounds.

VII. World trapped in prisms, But refracted paint past pain, Bleeding light and hope.