There is something lurking in the woods

And it isn’t pretty

A sight of tragedy and loss

Revenge, oh such a pity

Of broken bonds and family ties

Their hair is a mess, their face tells the rest

But their roots remain strong

For blood is thicker no less

In vain times and in good ones

The birds cry for the trees, the crows eat at their feet

Their roots like pained soldiers, stoic with an endless desire to sleep

Good times come when summer is here

In fall some fall, some way too steep

Come winter’s winds howling in the rain, the snow

Who knows where it might blow?

In spring, look, I’ve made a friend, a beautiful willow tree

Summer’s here, the men cause fear

The weeping willow’s sweat falls like tears

In anticipation, we think, who is next?

In consternation, the willow weeps, and we lose a friend again

We try to scream, but the scorching heat has dried up our windpipes

So much that if someone were to brush their arm along our bark

All that would be felt is fire, anger that was unprecedented, nonetheless deep

There is something lurking in the woods

An ominous premonition of some sort

A warning from Mother Nature, in a fairytale world of feeling trees

Where the trees have had enough, felt enough, seen enough

Where the trees have lost too much

Too much to remain in disguise, to stay silent

Their emotional pleas, unheard but defiant through the deafening silence

For this was such a perfect place for mankind

But a terrible, ungrateful species we were for such a perfect place

And by and by for the next specimen to come

There will be something lurking in the woods

A force, stronger than anyone can ever imagine

Of enduring knights who have waited for so long

Who have waited to avenge whom they have lost

Always acquiescent to the commands of Mother Nature who knows best

And who will command an ambush when the time is right

For even mothers will lose their patience from time to time

So here we are, roots firm in the ground, hair flying around

Compliant saints on the outside, beautiful beasts on another

Waiting for the opportunity to strike

And all of mankind will have felt it

All of you will have seen it

But it will be the last time you see anything again.

Author’s Note: This is you could say a warning from Mother Nature to mankind. I got this idea when I got an email this morning from the Earth Day Network which mentioned the struggles Puerto Rico has been going through to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. So, in honor of Earth Day (which is on April 22), I donated $2 ($1/tree) which is all I had in my credit card (lol, I’m broke) to help plant trees in El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rain forest in the US. So, in honor of Earth Day (and to save this planet from the imminent threat of Climate Change), I encourage you to give just $1 to the Canopy Project today, because, if not you, who? If not now, when?

CHANGE STARTS WITH YOU

Donation link: https://earthdaynetwork.salsalabs.org/thecanopyproject/index.html

The bird flies

The wind blows

It pushes its wings towards the skies

An escape from the terrestrial snow

It will fly to every corner, every nook and cranny, every tree

To seek out food for her premature three

A mother’s love is like no other

It stretches out, in, above and below

To the world’s eternal ups and the world’s endless lows

Its number one priority is to feed and care for its babies

Even though its death is a very likely maybe

It will keep going however, even if it’s freezing

It will keep fighting forever, even if it’s bleeding

Because it knows its rightful duty

Who is going to take care of her little ones when she’s lost

She is willing to take the risk

Even if it might be at a greater cost

The maternal bird will fly, the maternal bird has flown

It has finally found food for its babies

Resting next to their satiated moans

They are the last thing she sees

But it’s a beautiful sight indeed

With a content sigh, and a nose rub on the head from three

She is now peaceful, in harmony, free

For she has completed her final duty.

Author’s Note: I know it’s a bit late for Mother’s day now, but I wanted to put this up cuz I found it written in my phone’s notes, so why not? From what I remember, I wrote this on a day when it was raining heavily and only a few birds could be seen in the sky, and I just thought, it’s so cute and heartwarming what a mother bird would do for her children, no matter how hard or life-threatening it may be.

My stupid sister

So angry with her

Snake-like, a pest, to hell with her

So slandered and sorrowful, furious with her

What did I do, I ask myself

I'm so confused, with no regrets

She judges me, no sympathy

My consternation

What rules have I bent?

A laugh, a horrible guffaw

Of a thing so cruel

How could I've not seen

The devil in disguise

When he was right in front of me

A possession of her eyes, her words, my enemy

A flower on the outside

That pesky little pig

That pestilent and pompous, voracious little kid

I remember all the times when I saw you all alone

It brings me goosebumps of terror, and bile-rise up my throat

Out of torment, and fear

The evil Queen is here

A sudden epiphany

Of who you came to be

Oh how I long for how it used to be

A game of jests, innocent bliss, Felicity

Why did it come to this

For change is not so without a few broken hearts

But by and by, a taste of Life's nasty wit

God has placed me here for a reason

What could it be

A competition of best fit

I will not have it

So let's settle our differences

And bury our past

And while we are here

Let's make it last

As fortunate as we may be

Let's build a tree of respect

A symbol of kindness, to self-reflect

Let this tree be our talisman

That guides us till the end

A love of two sisters

Easy to comprehend

Bound by magic so strong

In the branches of a tree

That I've known for so long

And now my time is here

And now my time has come

So bury me under this tree

With my sister, my eternal frenemy.

Author's Note: I wrote this poem after fighting with my (obnoxious at the time) sister @whothehellcares, cuz I was angry, but a lot of the things I said here are not real, they're all made up. Now, when I come back to this, I'm still surprised by what I find, and it just makes me think "I wrote this?", because I know that if I didn't feel angry at the time, I wouldn't have been able to write it. So, some advice I'd like to give to any starting writer is to jot down your emotions, especially when they are strong, because I can assure you, you will make a masterpiece out of it.

It was our second month in school together

The month of October, when everything falls down

When everyone and everything falls into the crooked hole I like to call Love

I was shy 

I couldn't change that

You would always smile at me when you came in late

I wouldn't look back

I could feel you staring sometimes

At the back of my head

I could feel you touching my hair

Playing with a curly brown thread

You sum up the courage one day to ask me "Can we go on a date?"

Unfortunately for you, I didn't know how you felt about me yet

I didn't know what to feel, I didn't know how to respond 

So I said the first thing that came to mind

I said no

Maybe I was insensitive towards you when I rejected you

Maybe I thought it was for the best 

But dammit, no matter how hard I try

I can't get you out of my head

I have feelings for you now that I haven't had before

So I try to give subtle cues, nothing less, nothing more

When you ask around for a pen for instance, and no one replies

I smile to myself at your recklessness

And timidly reach out to you, a brief glance into your eyes

A sudden exchange of glances, a secret amongst ourselves

A slight caress of skin on skin, as your fingers touch my pen

Raw emotions of pain and pleasure pooled within your eyes, my eyes

A short-lived battle you win

I look away, but I don't want to

I want you

I want to look at your eyes

Your hazel eyes, as sweet as honey when you look at me

As cold as ice when you don't

I try to make it up to you

I try to get closer to you, but to stay far at the same time

I try to give you tiny hints

Implicit displays of my affection for you

In every class, if I pushed my chair back, you'd pull yours forward

You'd sit behind me with your tall legs outstretched, wide open on both sides of my chair 

I'd take it as a warm invitation, so I nestle my feet between them

You would close the gap, so that our legs were touching

You get closer to me, if that was even possible

And start twirling strands of my hair

I don't stop you, no one's looking, so I don't care

I feel safe now, I feel protected

I feel content now, I feel excited

I feel your eyes on me again

I can hear you sigh contently behind me

At this newly acquired knowledge of yours

I can imagine you thinking now "she likes me too" with our legs intertwined

I smile to myself at our little game

I don't want it to end

Ironically, we had so much chemistry in this class

Maybe that's where it got the name Chemistry

This was our only chance

Our only chance to show our love in disguise

Sometimes I would even tease you

Like whenever you were standing and talking to your friend, your back facing me

I would pretend I forgot something in my locker

So I would stand up and put my hand on your back

As I tried to squeeze myself between you and the desk

I would always feel you tense under my touch

And I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed it

I enjoyed the way I made you feel

Or when we went up the stairs side by side

We would consciously let our arms touch, just to feel the goosebumps

This was our little secret, and no one would ever know

No one except the two of us

At the end of the day, I would go to my bus and you would follow me

Thanks to your best friend, whose bus was mutual to mine

So I'd place my bag on my seat, and we'd say our visual farewell for the day

As the first buses start their engines, you would rush to your bus and I would sit in mine

I would always have a mini panic attack at that moment

Scared that I may never see you again, as irrational as that is

But who said love was rational?

My eyes yearn for your touch, for a glimpse

A brief glimpse of you

As I repeatedly tell my brain  "one more time, just one more time" 

As I try to convince myself that I've already bid you goodbye for the day

The feeling is hard to resist

So I finally succumb to my pleasure

And as I turn around ever so slightly,

Your knowing smile greets me.

The pain of unrequited love

Worse than anyone can ever imagine

A stab to my heart

Filled with regret and sadness

An unjust melancholy

Of love so strong but not returned

Stop this folly and be jolly

My brain tells me

But I can't from what I've learned

Where did I get that idea

Was it all in my head

You tell me not to be sad

But your words of solace hurt instead

When someone loves you, but you don't love him back

You feel empathy to a certain degree

And then the feeling is gone

But when you love someone

And they don't love you back

That feeling is another story

It pushes you deeper and deeper

Into your insecurities

Your doubts

Your fears

It places emphasis on everything you hate about yourself

But no one will push you out of it

No one will help you

From the depths of your agony

And then time becomes your friend

And it ultimately heals you

Inside and out

So don't be sad

And don't be upset

In the end

It's better to regret something that you said

Than to regret something you meant

But didn't do

At the end of the day

We all learn from our mistakes

Whether they are big or small

Serious or foolish

We all forgive

And we all forget.

There is a paradox of interest to me

That goes by the name of the dental paradox

It involves the dentist

As well as me, myself, and I

Of which me is the one that hates him

Myself the one that fears him

And I, the one between the two

It is a weird dilemma

And there are mixed signals

When a dentist promises you candies and sweets

While he fixes your teeth

Why not promise me delicious food that won’t harm me?

For the pharma industry acquires pennies simultaneously

So they fix and give candy, as promised

But just as a widowed mother of four

With children all grown and away

They will want to see you again

How misinformed you all are

I pity the ones who take it

The Hippocratical Oath

For some don’t know the truth

And believe their acts are for the greater good

How evil you are Pharma

For you take advantage of doctors and the public penny

I would like to know

When will it all be enough?

When will it suffice?

Years and years of false doctoral educations

When there are easier alternatives to medicine

And more effective ones

And in the end,

What will you do, Pharma, when the truth is finally out?

Hold on tight to what you have

For once Truth meets World,

There will be nothing but Shame as a loyal friend

To highlight your concealed pharmaceutical crimes.

Author’s Note: 17 years = Length of parents’ marriage

He writes and plans

and plans and writes

his mathematical hand it does

He plans his flee from his homeland

to seek another life he does

He wants no responsibility of his children

but he brought them up he did

His plans of calculation,

so brilliantly crafted,

it’s no surprise he ascended in Calculus,

his only friend of seventeen years

who helped him plan his quest

So he planned a new wife

and he planned a new life

and left his mistress in distress

God bless her our mother

he said she was not compatible,

for her passion was fashion

and his passion planning

It’s no wonder he rejected her intentions,

for wasn’t he the best at planning?

And thus, here we are

in our mediocre homeland

watching our mother of four

try her very best to feed us

and to guide us

One could not be more grateful

to have such a mother

of beautiful brown ringlets

and of cheeks as red as roses

that reminded me of our attachment

Her legacy lies in our hair and cheeks,

the rest is to be forever nested deep

in our evergreen eyes that you gave us

an omen that constantly reminds me of snakes

and of our indispositions to come

One can only hope to pull a mandrake from the ground at times like these

to rid himself of illnesses of every kind

and to attain eternal life

And if it were not an elixir for eternal life

then let it be for a happy one

Why did you leave us here father?

Why did you run?

For now you have given us everything and then nothing,

and we love you close to none.

When help is needed but not requested

There is no need to manifest it

For the Lord is here and he shall grant it

And none but He is forever nested

Within the hearts of the people

And the ones they love

How funny the show might be

To he who jests it

It may be a joke

But we are tested

The Lord laughs at our blunders

At our appealing behests

As a black bird does

When noticing a wasp’s nest

But nothing is funnier

And nothing as final

As leading yourself to your own death.