Another Story Of His Life.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

your palm
had given you a
blank sheet of paper
as white as
the boracay sand,

a pencil, sharpened
and strong,

fate asks you,
'who are you?
what do you want
from me? '

you know what you
are
from the very beginning
you know what you want
since time
immemorial

a middle aged woman
with thick reading glasses
looks at you
seriously, 'you are tough,
you are bright
like a morning
light'

you know what you are
and you know much more
what you want

when you want to write
the truth
(the truth as felt
and loved)
the blank sheet of paper
turns into a
thorny bush
with fire from its roots
it is ready to
hurt you and

the pencil can turn into
a venomous viper
ready to bite you to
death

if, if, you write
the truth (as felt and loved)

the woman looks at you
more seriously
'you can manage it
i have trust in you'

and so, to keep this life,
this journey of pain,
you scribble a lie
and another lie

and the woman with thick glasses
smiles at you
with confirmation

the pencil remains as a pencil
and the paper as paper
'this is reality, this is reality'
the mirror of life speaks
in utter silence... the irony
of truth, dressed as a lie,
life transcending death,
sadness with its sweetness
defeating the routine
joy.