The Roller Coaster

Oh youth of the Philippines, hope of the motherland, the time has come to awaken from your slumber. The season of complacency and apathy has passed. Shake off the shackles of addictions that bind and leave you helpless. Break free from the chains of drugs, sex and violence. Ignite your dreams that were snuffed out, gather your ambitions that were trampled. Rise from the ashes of poverty. Rise from the low expectations of our elders. Rise from the grave of corruption and greed. Awaken hope. Awaken faith. Awaken life. We were born for a bright horizon. We were born, the future of our motherland. Let us not just hope for a better tomorrow. But let us together work to make that longing a reality. Let us take up the torch of our forefathers and echo their cries for justice, freedom and equality. They shed their blood for freedom from foreign oppressor, but we fight for freedom against our very own flesh and blood. We are the future and we must fight for the oppressed  wh...

I saw darkness Surrounding and suffocating A heavy burden I carried The weight kept me on my knees My voice would not emerge I felt hopeless and faint My thoughts began to race To the first time I played with fire To that first time I allowed darkness to enter my life I thought of the happiness I felt The popularity The desires fulfilled The freedom to do anything under the sun Then I remembered the sense of loss The sadness hidden behind a smiling mask I remembered the cutting words whispered by the walls The voices in my head telling me I’m no good I remembered the agony of rejection The overwhelming desire to end it all I remembered the freedom that turned to chains Those heavy chains I could not break What happened? How did I get here? To this place of hopelessness To this place of despair “Why do I have breath?” Sorrow fills my heart Rivers flow from my eyes Alone Stuck Help! Everything inside cries out My lips utter a...