Poetry

"Kung Pwede Ko Lang Iyak Na Lang Lahat"
A Spoken Word for Mother's Day

Ma...
If you only knew how many times I whispered your name
in rooms you’ve never been to.
In battles I fought alone,
wishing—hoping—na andiyan ka pa rin.

You were my first home.
But I never realized that homes
could get tired too.
Could break quietly.
Could love loudly,
yet still be unseen.

I saw you...
in memories I took for granted.
Your hands, peeling garlic at 5AM,
while I slept through your sacrifices.
Your eyes, heavy with pain,
pero naka-smile ka pa rin.
You called it “pagmamahal.”
But now I know—
it was more than that.
It was martyrdom.

You gave me your food,
your dreams,
your youth.
And I—I gave you attitude.
Loud sighs.
Cold shoulders.
Half-hearted hugs.

God, Ma...
if I could rewind even just one day...
I’d hold you longer.
Listen harder.
Ask you how you’re really doing
and not just pass by your pain like it was nothing.

Kasi ngayon,
the silence in your room screams louder than any fight we had.
The chair you used to sit on feels like a grave.
Your tsinelas still by the door—
like you might come back.
But I know...
you won't.

And to those who still have their mothers—
hug her like it’s her last day.
Listen to her kwento, even if it’s the 10th time.
Say “I love you” kahit awkward.
Because one day...
you’ll wish you did.

Ma,
I hope you know—
I see it all now.
Every rice meal you skipped,
every dream you set aside,
every tear you hid so we could smile.

I carry your love like armor.
I wear your prayers like second skin.
And I cry when no one’s looking,
because this world without you
feels wrong.

But this poem—
this broken, bleeding poem—
is the closest thing I have to holding your hand again.

Happy Mother’s Day, Ma.
I hope Heaven is softer than the life you lived.
I hope God let you rest.
You’ve earned it a thousand times over.

And I hope…
somehow, you hear this.
And know,
I never stopped loving you.
Even when I didn’t show it right.

--- SNDY

"The Peril of Perpetual Right"

---

Spoken Word Poetry:

You ever notice how the world
has started to reframe the rules?
We’ve handed out the mantle of “always right,”
wrapped it in pink and gold ribbons,
and placed it gently upon the shoulders
of women —
as if their truth is beyond reproach,
as if their words should never meet the light of critique.
We call it “empowerment,”
but it’s become a new dogma,
a new norm —
one where reason takes a backseat
to unquestioned belief.

And don’t get me wrong,
women deserve their voice,
their power, their truth —
but when did we start worshipping the idea of always being right?
When did we begin to replace dialogue with silence,
debate with blind agreement,
and nuance with absolutism?

You see, I’ve been watching.
Watching as every word from a woman’s mouth
is considered gospel,
as if to challenge it is to dishonor the very fabric of femininity.
As if to question her is to dismiss her struggle,
to invalidate her experience.
But this is not empowerment,
this is tyranny of perception.

We’ve created a culture where truth
becomes a matter of who speaks the loudest,
who wears the crown of victimhood most proudly.
And if you’re not a part of the “always right” club,
you’re cast aside,
drowned out by the echoes of unbalanced narratives
that demand submission over reason.
We are silencing the very core of critical thought
in favor of comfort and convenience.

The world says,
“Honor the woman, no matter what.”
But honor isn’t granted by default.
Honor is earned in the weight of words,
in the courage to face critique,
in the willingness to grow and evolve.
To say “always right” is to say no evolution.
It’s to say that truth is stagnant,
to say that one voice will always dominate
and that everyone else must simply agree.

And when we don’t agree,
we’re labeled.
Mansplainers.
Toxic.
Disrespectful.
We are thrown in boxes we never built,
labeled with terms meant to shut down dialogue,
meant to smother the flame of disagreement
before it can spark.
But isn’t conversation supposed to be
two-way?

So, we stand here —
on the precipice of a cultural shift
where disagreement is no longer acceptable,
where critical thought is seen as hostile
and silence is the price of peace.
But peace through silence is never true peace.
It’s the illusion of harmony,
a harmony that dies the moment we stop questioning,
the moment we stop thinking.

I ask:
When did we stop valuing balance?
When did we decide that one voice —
no matter how valid —
should always rise above the rest?
When did we stop demanding accountability from all sides,
because no one is always right?
Not men. Not women.
Not anyone.

True strength isn’t in being right.
True strength is in being willing to listen,
to be wrong,
to learn,
to grow.
True strength is in recognizing
that neither gender has a monopoly on truth,
but that together, we create it.

So, let's reclaim the power of conversation.
Let’s embrace the beauty of debate
and critique,
of nuance and balance.
Let’s stop idolizing the illusion of certainty
and start embracing the messiness of real understanding.

Because no one is always right.
But together, we can find the truth.

---
Lesson:
“When we stop questioning, we stop evolving. And when we stop evolving, we stop living.”

__________________________________________

"Ang Peligro ng Laging Tama"

---

Spoken Word Poetry:

Napansin mo ba kung paano binago ng mundo
ang mga patakaran?
Ibinigay natin ang salamin ng “laging tama,”
tinali ito sa pink at gintong laso,
at maingat na inilagay sa balikat
ng mga babae —
parang ang kanilang katotohanan ay hindi pwedeng kwestyunin,
parang ang kanilang mga salita ay hindi pwedeng sumailalim sa liwanag ng pagsusuri.
Tinawag natin itong “empowerment,”
pero ito’y naging bagong doktrina,
bagong norma —
kung saan ang rasyon ay nauurong
kapalit ng huwarang paniniwala.

At huwag mong ipagkamali,
karapat-dapat ang mga babae sa kanilang tinig,
sa kanilang kapangyarihan, sa kanilang katotohanan —
pero kailan nga ba nagsimula na ang laging pagiging tama
ay tinanggap na parang isang banal na batas?
Kailan ba tayo nagsimulang palitan ang diyalogo ng katahimikan,
ang debate ng bulag na pagsang-ayon,
at ang mga nuances ng isang absolutong pananaw?

Tingnan mo, nanonood ako.
Pinagmamasdan ko kung paanong ang bawat salita ng babae
ay itinuturing na ebanghelyo,
parang ang magtanong o magsalungat
ay parang pagtanggi sa mismong tela ng pagka-babae.
Parang ang mag-question ay itinatanggi ang kanilang laban,
binabalewala ang kanilang karanasan.
Pero hindi ito empowerment,
ito’y paghahari ng ilusyon.

Nilikha natin ang isang kultura kung saan ang katotohanan
ay isang bagay na nakadepende sa kung sino ang pinakamalakas magsalita,
kung sino ang may hawak ng korona ng pagiging biktima.
At kung hindi ka kasali sa "laging tama" na klub,
ikaw ay itinakwil,
pinapalakas ang mga naratibo na hindi balance,
na naghihikayat ng pagsunod kaysa sa rasyonalidad.
Pinapalakas natin ang katahimikan ng tunay na pag-iisip
kapalit ng aliw at kaginhawaan.

Sinabi ng mundo,
“Parangalan ang babae, kahit ano pa.”
Pero ang paggalang ay hindi ibinibigay ng basta-basta.
Ang paggalang ay kinikilala sa bigat ng mga salita,
sa tapang na humarap sa pagninilay,
sa handang lumago at magbago.
Ang magsabi ng “laging tama” ay magsabi ng walang pagbabago.
Iyon ay nagsasabi na ang katotohanan ay stagnant,
na ang isang boses ay laging maghahari
at ang iba ay kailangang sumang-ayon.

At kapag hindi tayo sumang-ayon,
tinatakda tayo.
Mansplainers.
Toxic.
Walang galang.
Tinatapon tayo sa mga kahon na hindi natin ginawa,
nailalagay sa mga etiketang naglalayong patahimikin ang diyalogo,
naglalayong pigilan ang apoy ng hindi pagkakasunduan
bago pa ito magsimula.
Pero hindi ba’t ang tunay na pag-uusap ay
dapat may dalawang panig?

Kaya’t nandito tayo —
sa gilid ng isang pagbabago ng kultura
kung saan ang hindi pagkakasunduan ay hindi na katanggap-tanggap,
kung saan ang kritikal na pag-iisip ay itinuturing na masama
at ang katahimikan ay ang presyo ng kapayapaan.
Ngunit ang kapayapaan sa katahimikan ay hindi tunay na kapayapaan.
Ito’y ang ilusyon ng pagkakaisa,
isang pagkakaisa na namamatay sa oras na itigil natin ang pagtatanong,
sa oras na huminto tayo sa pag-iisip.

Tanungin ko:
Kailan natin pinatay ang halaga ng balanse?
Kailan natin sinabi na ang isang boses —
huwag mong pansinin kung gaano ito katotoo —
ay laging dapat mangibabaw?
Kailan natin pinatay ang pangangailangan na mag-demand ng accountability mula sa lahat ng panig,
dahil walang laging tama?
Walang lalaki, walang babae,
walang sinuman.

Ang tunay na lakas ay hindi sa pagiging tama.
Ang tunay na lakas ay nasa pagiging handang makinig,
maging mali,
matuto,
lumago.
Ang tunay na lakas ay nasa pag-unawa
na wala ni isa sa atin ang may monopolyo sa katotohanan,
ngunit magkasama, ginagawa natin ito.

Kaya’t bawiin natin ang kapangyarihan ng pag-uusap.
Tanggapin natin ang kagandahan ng debate
at pagsusuri,
ng nuance at balanse.
Huwag nating itanggi ang ilusyon ng katiyakan
at simulan ang pagtanggap sa kalituhan ng tunay na pag-unawa.

Dahil wala ni isa sa atin ang laging tama.
Ngunit magkasama, matutuklasan natin ang katotohanan.

---

Lesson:

"Kapag huminto tayo sa pagtatanong, huminto tayo sa paglago.
At kapag huminto tayo sa paglago, huminto tayo sa pamumuhay."

- SNDY

Freedom or Foolishness? The Lady Rider’s Middle Finger Wasn’t Brave — It Was Dangerous

Social media celebrated her like a rebel queen.

A lady rider in Zambales flashed her middle finger at a pickup driver in a moment of rage. The video spread like wildfire. Some clapped. Some criticized. But many missed the point:

This wasn’t empowerment. This was ego.

Yes, women deserve equality on the road. Yes, they should speak up when disrespected. But when did flipping the bird become a symbol of bravery?

Road rage — no matter who does it — is still toxic behavior.
The fact that it was a woman doesn’t make it revolutionary.
The fact that people cheered her on proves we’ve normalized disrespect, not justice.

What if the pickup driver lost control of his emotions and things escalated?
What if there were kids watching?
What if she had caused a chain reaction of hate on the road?

We fight for safer roads, more disciplined drivers, and better treatment for female riders.
But you don’t win that fight by acting like the enemy.
________________________________________&

"You say you were attacked.
The truck didn’t use his side mirror.
But let’s be honest:
That’s not why you threw up your middle finger.
No, you wanted to make a statement.
You wanted to feel something.
But it wasn’t justice you were fighting for —
it was pride.

You felt threatened?
Is that what happened?
You saw a driver’s error and immediately saw yourself
as the innocent victim in this grand road drama.
But let me ask you:
Did you check your position before you flipped?
Did you even think for a second,
maybe you were in his blind spot too?
Were you the one in the wrong lane, maybe?

No.
You didn’t think.
You acted.
And with that one impulsive gesture,
you made it about you,
you made it about your pride,
your right to retaliate.

But listen to me:
No one’s claiming you’re not allowed to be angry.
No one’s saying you’re not allowed to feel attacked.
But reaction is one thing.
Responsibility is another.

FACT 1:
You didn’t stop to think —
what if that one finger raised was a trigger?
What if it made him lose his cool,
what if it led to a chase, a crash?
What if it started a fire that didn’t need to burn?
Was your pride worth the risk?
Was it worth the consequences?

You didn’t even pause to ask:
Could there have been a misunderstanding?
Could it have been a simple mistake?
No, you went for the ego shot,
you went straight for the throat,
as if the world owed you an explanation
for something so small,
so insignificant,
and yet you acted like it was the end of the world.

FACT 2:
Let me be clear —
The road isn’t a battlefield,
it’s a shared space.
When someone makes a mistake,
you don’t return it with an act of war.
You don’t return it with aggression,
you return it with understanding.
But understanding doesn’t sell on social media,
doesn’t get you likes.
So you went for the “power move,”
for the middle finger,
the quick and dirty way to feel superior.
But that’s not bravery.
That’s impulsiveness.

FACT 3:
The truth is,
you were upset,
but not because you were attacked.
You were upset because you felt disrespected,
and that made you act out.
But here’s the thing:
The world doesn’t revolve around you.
You’re not entitled to retaliation
just because you’re offended.
The road doesn’t exist for you to exact revenge
on every person who rubs you the wrong way.
Sometimes, discomfort is just discomfort.
It’s not a reason to escalate.

You see, the problem isn’t the pickup truck.
The problem isn’t the side mirror.
It’s the mindset —
this need to be seen, to be heard, to be right,
and to make sure everyone else knows it.
And when you felt overlooked,
you didn’t search for the solution.
You searched for the victory.
And that middle finger wasn’t a win —
it was a loss."

-SNDY