Breathe.

Breathe.

When the morning cuts the night,
I’m still learning to breathe again.
Our memories fill my empty, silent room,
And as sleep, my lonely refuge lets me down,
That’s when I pull my worn out guitar out of the case,

And a tune is born out of the deafening silence.

When the sun corrupts the day,
I breathe in circles—in despair.
Tried to waste time in the noisy, crowded avenues,
But your face screams the hell out of my mind.
Sing myself a song, just to let go,

Sing a happy one, never our own.

When the light finally gives up,
It’s the hardest moment to breathe.
Everyone’s tired, but never my heart.
Staring at the sun as it sets,
I wish I could pull the clouds away,

Saw the wall, got a pen and started to write in rhyme.

When the darkness embraces the struggling sky,
You said breathing is finally over—it’s time to die.

I can never accept my loss—you’re all that I own.
Misery beholds my downfall; won’t you save me from the cold?
Alone in this night, I hold a pencil tight,
Even if you won’t come alive, I’ll risk a sketch of your like.

You are the thought behind the music my guitar plays,
Behind every song I sing, every poem I write,
And every picture that could ever exist in my mind—
But my heart tries to kill.

And if they say love is an art, I say, you are.

You are both my ease and my pain.
My life has been about you—you are the reason for this.
I breathe for you.
Won’t you let me breathe again?

***
the queen's note.
This poem is supposed to be my entry for the Culture Shock Poetry Writing Contest held by Department of Arts and Communication in the University of the Philippines - Manila. Unfortunately, i failed to meet the deadline and just decided to post it somewhere i know would compensate the prizes that were at stake. The theme was "Art as Therapy" and here's what i wrote--one which is very heartfelt and real.