Tag: Monique Carillo

Remember when we’re cloaked in darkness and wanderlust
In our own filth, we begged at the pedestal of grandiose stars
In their hollow castles all sparkling over our heads
Trying to steal a piece of light for winning our inner wars
We were the nomads in sync with stale winds of rare moons
Following the trails of the archer, Sirius, Virgo
And in the silence, our shut lips are calling on high
That our lost feet may be lifted where galaxies grow

---

Monique graduated from UP Mindanao. She is currently studying medicine.

Sway the leaves while you breathe
And your mind rests after long days
Keeping watch from your marbled walls
Are memories, stolen as polaroids
You wait for the night storm to pass
But realize the magic in the air

Like a wave, rain crashes
As angels’ wings beat for drumline
A musical surge on your roof
Transmitted straight towards your apex beat
And as you lay there, wondering
Will this beautiful downpour ever end?

Yes, if you wanted to
But tears of heaven have calmed you
Never was any soothing sound
That your own ears enjoyed and learned to love
Your own pleasure of symphony
While you drown yourself in rain’s
Orchestrated confessions

---

Monique graduated from UP Mindanao.

See, we used to argue about reality
How you’d defend the hallmarks of science
That stars do not dictate destiny, history
You name them witnesses, spectator ions
In this cosmic chemistry you and I have called life
And I listen to your marvels, doctrines, stories
For some time, you glorified the way all things work
Being measured in perfect accuracy, yes,
Rational, logical, against my own version
I am not saying you are wrong, you are perfect
We are yin and yang, sky and ground, science and faith
And yet you displaced me out of your universe
So I made my world out of what you lack for me
Where miracles exist, that truth is faceted
Mysteries stay as secrets, defying your views
I tried carving your face from the lights pressed lightly
Among car windows, I tried memorizing
The freckles on your neck among stars of clear night skies
I tried to seep through the cracks of your worldly thought
You can’t stand my poetry, the way the world
Is Conspiring for you to see beauty in these words.
No more arguments, your eyes speak clearer
Than the breakthroughs mankind reached because finally
The reality transcends you, me, each of us

---

Monique Carillo is a student of University of the Philippines Mindanao.

Hindi ko inasahan, hindi pinaghandaan
Mga sumunod na oras na nagdaan
Tila ba wala akong makita sa’king harapan
Maliban sa karera ng rumaragasang ulan
Sa konting panahon na naiwan,
hanggang sa araw ng iyong paglisan
Sana ay lagi mong pakatatandaan,
walang rason para ika’y makalimutan
Kahit pa labag man ito sa aking kalooban
Pagtutugma ng mga salita’y aking sinubukan
Sapagkat alam kong ito lamang ang paraan
Upang mas lalo mong maiintindihan
Hindi na kailangan pang mangatwiran
Na sa iyong pag-alis ay kalungkutan
Kung nagkataon na tayo’y pinagbigyan
Pangako kong ika’y aking iingatan
At kung nagkataon na iyong mamalayan
Ang paglipas ng mga taon ay mabilisan
Kung nasa hinaharap ang ating kapalaran
Kung nagkataon, pwede na ba nating ipaglaban?

—
Monique is a student at UP Mindanao.

She knew.
From above the skies
close to burning stars,
traveling planets,
she heard him.
His silver coat gnashing
against forest thorns.
Paws thundering
over earth’s carpets.
From distance high,
she longed
as he had longed
to reach her
in lunatic embrace.
Against all lights
scattered in the night,
she watched him chase.
Yet she could only
barely touch the howl
from the stare of
the wolf.

—
Monique Carillo is a student at UP Mindanao.

It’s been a long, hard day.
Lazy air fused with my tired breaths.
An orange glow caressed over
metallic skins of vehicles along the highway.
Suddenly before me, I behold upon the
dark, thick hull of an ancient ship.
It mounted on waves racing for west.

I heard the captain’s sure voice
shouting demands, his commands
to ready the sails and lanterns for sundown.
I smelled worn shirts of aged and young alike,
the harmony of their heavy feet
begging for rest.
I tasted the oceanic calling
as these marauders move.
And I felt a formidable existence.

Then I was behind whose hair
freely laughed as the seabirds ahead.
He turned around, and I
found myself drowned
in his gold and verdigris eyes
incomparable to the green flash.
A shot of bright light
flooded my closed lids.

I’m back inside a present-day taxi,
surpassing my mind on
restless wanderlust
and parallel universes.
It’s been a long, hard day.

—
Ms Carillo is currently studying BS Biology at UP Mindanao.

Her windows became
ribbons of glitter
layered through the glass.
A waterfall of peach
and cream roses became
her curtains.
Farewells to the moon
and welcoming dawn.
A pillow of tears
embraced her tangled
mane of nuts and wood.
Dreams of vividness,
escaping reality.
But alas, she
woke again from
unfinished words.
Just as her gaze
isn’t blind
anymore, she
forgets.
Except for his face
she no less remembered.

—-
Born in General Santos City, Monique is a Second Year student at UP Mindanao. She’s currently studying BS Biology.

Remember when dusk glow danced
Laying a final warmth upon polished floors
Of a forgotten place we claimed under our sigil
Hidden among groves of fertile promises
Here are our secrets and stories written and sealed
Today I sneaked out of classes and found you there
Waiting with those Moorish eyes
Golden specks lit up your hair, your smile
I was used finding you busy
But beneath crimson and lilac clouds
Your gaze fixed on me
Your embrace didn’t hold back its silence
Hold me close here in the setting sun
Whisper your heart’s cry
Before sparrows sing of tears
Before goodbyes come

—
Born in General Santos City, Monique is a Second Year student at UP Mindanao. She’s currently studying BS Biology.