Untitled Poem after Ondoy

A couple of nights ago I sat in my room

Thinking about what I, we are doing here.

And I thought to myself,

Well I know im not here

To screw around and sip beer.

Well maybe…

But seriously there has to be a greater purpose than that.

Some of us are here cause we wana be smart and all of that.

Now, I did realize one thing we are here to try and be all that we can be…

And that’s a fact.

That night I sat in my room typing on my mac

Writing all kinds of lines about home and how I wana be back

But then I realize if I was home I would never get the chance to gain what I lack

Then I got tired and hit the sack

I woke up the morning after and despite my hurting back

I sat down by my mac

To write another line about home and the things that I lack.

Then it hit me like a smack.

See I realized that I had this knack

To write rhymes that are actually kind of wack

But at the same time state a lot of fact

I noticed these signs that I put up with a tack

It read, Belfort, and never quit…

Belfort is a guy that I admire.

This guy made me realize

That with clearer eyes

I could maximize

My potential to become real wise

About things that are important to girls and guys like you and me.

See

There are these things that matter no matter what side of the sea

You and I may be.

Around the world people wonder

What is wrong or right

But the truth of the matter is

No matter how much you ponder

Nothing we do is wrong or right

It just matters that in the end of the day, like at night

What we do is generous to others and not out of spite.

And to some… things like that are well,

Out of sight!

Unfortunately that’s not very tight.

In fact, the mere fact that people can be so selfish is actually kinda messed up.

In fact

We stand here now talking about this and that

While people around the world are fighting for their lives and that

Is kinda wack

Did you all see the Philippines on the news?

It looks like they were hit by a tsumani

Rain pouring down ruining a house of a family

And then I wonder… Hows my family?

I stand here now rhyming words about what I saw on the news

And I realized damn that’s my daddy.

Handing out bags of relief

To families that in one brief moment

Lost everything.

Then… I was reminded of the grief.

Somehow despite being free

Here

I feel like I’m stranded on a reef

I cant help my countrymen

Now I stand here in disbelief.

How can I preach about generosity

When I spend the majority

Of my time

TALKING about the monstrosity

That has wrecked my home with up most ferocity.

How I wish I could travel at a terminal velocity

To help the people of a metropolis suffering now from a natural atrocity.

So to end this poem

I must ask you a question

And honestly this is more of a suggestion

After what I just said I hope I didn’t cause you indigestion

But when you hear about news regarding nature’s aggression

Doesn’t that stuff just grab your attention?

In this story there is no bad guy

Cause with your help.

Theres just some family and a guy

Asking for help from passersby.

So he can once again say “finaly

food

I can again buy”

Instead of asking for food and sitting under the sky

he can now breathe a sigh

Of relief

Cause you were all kind enough to hand out cash for relief

So if you can donate anything to this jar of belief

You can now give your selves a pat in the back

For helping some Filipino’s get a nice big sack

Of some stuff that they now lack.