Balcony, A Poem

Balcony

There is a place in my house before

It is located on the second floor

Sliding glass doors open to it

At night with warm lighting it is lit

It needs no fan to ventilate

It was like I was at heaven's gate

I valued my time spent here

Being alone with no one to hear

A little roof and then the sky

They have heard and seen me cry

I would take my place on the ledge

Hand on grills for on the edge

I felt tingles down my body

Afraid to fall and break unevenly

Journal open and pen poised

Thoughts were out but not voiced

My face upwards and catching the wind

A lovely place to clear the mind

Ceramic, pebbles, and tiles

Here to welcome guests with smiles

Looking down at the gate that's red

Here, countless books I have read

A place of connection to the Lord

Lifting up prayers with my heart's words

I would look over to the empty lot

Across walls, and built upon it's not

I would wonder if snakes there roam

I hoped they wouldn't enter our home

Here, there were dreams that were formed

And shattered after it had stormed

As flood waters rushed in everywhere

That was the view from up there

Here, our wet and cold dog stayed

On the second floor we waited and prayed

But, as soon as the sun shone through

I rushed here to see if the streets dried, too

It held a hope that the nightmare was over

Like how God offers strength forever

a little roof and then the sky

When I think back upon this part of my parents' home, I realized that it was kind of my sanctuary. I went there when I felt sad. I also went there to be inspired to write more poems, apart from drawing inspiration from the Bible. I have always loved composing poetry. I went there whenever I wanted to connect with God, to look at the clouds and to talk with Him. About the flood waters, my parents' place would be quite flooded whenever it would rain for days. The whole first floor was submerged in water during the typhoon Ondoy. Over there, it was great to be on the balcony because the house was situated far from the avenue where cars pass by. But here, I couldn't stay very long on the balcony because of the pollution from the public utility jeeps, the tricycles and the private cars that always pass through the street outside our home. The balcony here is very "public" as many passers-by walk along the street thus, I wouldn't dare cry!