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
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| 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!
