Miah Learns to Write

A couple of months ago, some of my friends attempted to discover the pattern of my infatuations in order to develop a profile of the kind of people I am attracted to, much to my chagrin. But the idea that there is a certain innate set of characteristics that I find captivating intrigued me, moreover, the fact that there would only be one person who would "match" or complement you such that you somewhat metaphorically become "one complete person," supporting one's flaws with the strengths of the other and merging your experiences and personalities to live in harmony. However, at the time I didn't think much of it. Quite recently, in my management class, the concept of how our personalities shape the way we react and interact with people of similar or different dispositions unearthed my interest and reflections on the subject which sparked a connection, a sort of epiphany, one that I have not realized before, perhaps because I thought it seemed so intuiti...

From Grantland I have been mulling over my internal debate of whether the Philippines should actually sever its ties with the US or not especially since our President had mentioned it in one of his press conferences to which his statement was clarified by various members of his cabinet to simply refer to the political and economic independence from the US, and being a lawyer he is definitely savvy with the legal aspects of his role but often having a very pointed and impulsive rhetoric. However, being the head of the state, whatever he says becomes policy much like the new US President who is much criticized for the policies that he is advocating. Of course, the question is not as simple as I would like to think it to be because being a part of an increasingly global landscape, it would not fare well for us, no pun intended, to cut ties from the international community, however, asserting our identity, independence, and our sovereignty is much needed despite the difficulties of t...

I'd like to think that you traveled to the stars Like the little princes of our lives So that we can hear your laughter again Somewhere in the night Among the host of an infinite number of stars. Or maybe you're like the heart of the ocean Thrown into the abyss after years of searching And that you found company in the throng Of the ocean deep, lying on the seabed With all kinds of crustaceans and anemones Buried in the sand like a treasure waiting To be discovered only by those Whose determination outlasts their lifetime. I'd like to hope that by some slim chance Your life has not yet ended or that, If it had, it wasn't by one swift blow Rather, we hope that, if you are now gone, You did not go gentle into that solemn night With throes of unrelenting, die hard courage And a tenacious idealism and resolve To rid this world of its ills Until your final moment has struck. Come back to us even as ghosts of the past Visiting with memories that w...

Every night she flipped through photos Of smiling faces and joyous laughter She looked at them with a smile on her face With wrinkles growing on her forehead And a tear falling down her cheek. Her hands have grown creased Through years of rummaging in every nook and cranny, Her eyes blurred, tired of seeing strange faces But her spirit still confident in the vague chance That she might find what she was looking for. Every night she would put down the album Lie down on her bed and start to sob Unable to bring herself to sleep She would get out of bed and prostrate herself Before God to plead her case before Him. "Why must I suffer the torment of not knowing Of not being near the one I love? Why must I be distant from them and Why must they be stripped from me?" She has asked the same question Every night for twenty agonizing years. She would rather see a body or a hand Or even just a semblance of what she had lost Just so she can receive an absolu...

When I was young, I was taught to always listen to my parents if I wanted to live a good life and I believe that children being under the authority of their parents must obey their commands because they know what's best for them except for cases when parents are committing heinous acts of abuse, I believe that obedience to them would be essential for a fruitful and meaningful life. But there comes a point when children would grow and be ushered into independence. They would start developing their own personalities and the world becomes their oyster to explore and ask questions about to discover the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of those they see and experience. And this is a critical point in their lives because whatever character, values, beliefs, worldviews, and ideologies they settle into would more or less be permanent. These are the foundations with which people base their actions and decisions in life. They are impregnable and can rarely be changed which is why I ...

Flashes and images, sights and sounds, a breeze through my skin I sit here on the porch of my house, gazing idly at the horizon I look at the sunset and wonder how many I've seen in my lifetime It never gets old, its beauty continues to mesmerize me, it's surreal, It only grows on you all the more, and the more I experience it My heart swells up with appreciation and awe for this lovely gift And how I wish I could take this moment with me forever I was on a boat once traveling to a new world, to a new life And every night, I looked at the stars, and I wondered How beautiful they were, though they may be too far to reach, They kept me company until I met a fellow admirer whose Sentimentality equaled mine. We talked and we laughed. There were nights when we just walked on the deck Sharing stories about our adventures and even some Awkward silences. The stars didn't seem too distant after all. Then we went up into the air on a hot air balloon. We passed Ov...

In all the hustle and bustle of life, we barely have time to sit down and just breathe. I think it is incredibly important to find time to reflect about everything that has happened so that we can make sense of it all and find our place, where we stand in the midst of things. We need time to review our lives and be reminded of where it is anchored in so that we would know the direction we are headed going forward. I want to have time for reflection, to connect the dots, to make sense of everything that has happened and formulate conclusions or action points to do something about them. This would require me to somewhat get away from the world for a little bit and to stop thinking about work or other people. I have not had the time to do so because the list of things to do seems to keep stacking up and I would find a reason not to have some alone time. Though I understand that the concept of "alone time" can be done regardless of the amount of work that you have - I mean t...

I don't know what it is about airplanes But whenever I look up at the sky and see one It makes me giddy and touches a soft spot in my heart As if I am transported back to a time When the world was full of wonder and I can't wait To go out and explore and see many different things Whenever I see an airplane, flashes of adventure Of places that I can only imagine flood my mind I become like a child once more Who looks up at the sky and bursts out in joy Then I feel a sense of longing To go back into that time when everything was new I don't know what it is about airplanes Imagining what it feels like to soar up in the sky To be free to go wherever you please It takes me back into the past and into tomorrow And I become like a child once more Waving off, imagining where it has been and where it will go *** To give a bit of a backstory for this poem, I have been thinking of writing a poem about airplanes for quite some time because I feel a sense of no...

The new year has come, 2016 has passed but I have experienced moments when the nostalgia brings back memories from the past which I would want to return to and experience all over again. Of course, the problem with that is we cannot go back in time and even if we were able to, it may not necessarily be the same and eventually, we would want to move on with our lives. But there is some value to reminiscing about the past because it would show us where we have been, how we have grown, and where we would go. It can make us happy when we think about the good times we've had and it could also make us tear up because we can't go back. However, we don't really have much to fret because most of our memories are stored at the back of our minds which we can retrieve during moments when we feel wistful and these experiences have also become part of ourselves through the way they changed our lives. What if, however, we begin to lose our grasp on these memories as we will inevitably ...