If I had you as a boyfriend,
Instead of calling me “babe”,
You can call me “Point B”,
Like the 2nd point on a google map board,
So you’ll know that you can always find your way to me,
If I had you as a boyfriend,
You’d hold your hands out to try and catch, balance, and juggle the stress of school, family, friends, and us,
But at times, your hands will be too small to hold it by yourself,
Like sand through your finger crevices,
But I’ll be there to help you out,
You wouldn’t have to take me out on fancy dinners,
You wouldn’t have to let me win at every single game we play just to make me feel like a winner,
As long as the echoes of our laughs,
And the irresistible power of our smiles resonate with the resolution of compromise, I’ll be fine.
Not saying that we won’t have fights,
Thunderstorms will eventually blanket our beaches,
But remember that sunlight lies just behind the clouds,
And our problems will only make us stronger through the fine print lessons they teach us,
I used to think that candy-coated words defined “love” but…
Is there a word for the way you vacuum my breath away whenever our eyes cross paths?
When you easily make me smile when you’re not even trying,
What’s that definition?
Rather than flipping through a dictionary,
I checked my phone,
And instead of the perfect word, I found your name,
But I’m not telling you that you have to be perfect,
What kind of a “perfect world” would it be if my heart stopped all the time?
If my mind couldn’t function correctly,
Daydreaming constantly,
If my speech was slurred by shyness?
It would be a world with you in it.
Ever since the first day you kissed me,
I left a storybook in your mouth,
Every moment together took place on the pages that needed to be filled out,
Our hearts worked as King Kong,
Wild, Spontaneous, People said we wouldn’t do good,
But we just didn’t care.
But remember, this poem isn’t for the desperate,
The one’s who are “forever alone”,
This poem isn’t for the lame who only date to get their fix,
But this poem is for the pillow holders,
The ones who desire to find warmth at night through stitched cotton hugs,
The same warmth they feel with their special someone,
This poem is for the tear jerkers,
The way he makes me feel vulnerable like the way fire cringes next to ice,
The way his eyes hypnotize and defy every rule in my book,
He is like the reassurance that the waves will always come back to kiss the ocean shore,
If I had you as a boyfriend,
I promise to never treat you like a forgotten penny,
Left in the streets,
Feeling like you have no value whatsoever,
I promise to always look at you the same way I did the first time,
I promise to be devoted like rhythm and rhyme,
I promise,
That you are so much more then you think you are.
We did amazingly at the preliminaries and were able to snatch that 1st place win but now that we’ve advanced to the finals, we’ll be going up against other 1st place winning high schools such as Berkeley. Wish us luck at UDPS tomorrow in Oakland! #Poetry Team, we out.
Oh Father,
It’s been over 5 years since I’ve seen my family,
Please take me to see my Uncle Fred,
Please take me to see the brother and sister I’ve never even met!
I don’t want them to know me as “That Boy”,
I want them to know me as the bridge,
I’ve been attempting to send postcard promises assuring them that the obstacle restricting me from my my family will be removed,
But… The obstacle is you, dad.
You dont even bother to look past your own selfish needs,
To let your own son laugh and eat with the family he never sees,
So I’ve engraved my hope onto a block of ice,
An placed it over the bruises that my heart has endured,
And in letting it melt,
I attempt to wash away my despair
Because water, like rain, can wash away all the pain, but only if you let it,
But water, like tears, is a remedy that only lasts temporarily,
I’m so frustrated with you, dad,
When will this end?!
I mean I love you but your one man lifestyle isn’t going to benefit,
Family is everything. Not something you just push aside,
No, family is the only tissue I’d save for myself whenever I cry,
I want to remind you that your son is a lover,
I love making people smile,
I love the idea of helping the less fortunate,
If I see a spider, in the house, I catch it and let it outside…. Well, most of the time,
But father can’t you see?
You’ve graced me with your name,
I stand as Valentin Torio the 3rd,
Though I’ve never met grandpa,
I rely on you to be the man who I’m proud to be named after,
I don’t want to be named after a man who doesn’t believe in family,
Dad, get your act together!
Listen to the S.O.S. in my voice,
Tell me that superman is here to save the day,
Because Dad, you’ll always be my hero,
But remember that you don’t have to wear the cape alone,
But until you figure that out,
I’ll be standing on your cape until you realize that the person you need to save is not me,
But yourself.
Here is a draft of my section for the team piece that John Paul, Phi, Chris, and I will possibly perform during finals. The topic is about the issues we have with our fathers.
Oh Father,
It’s been over 5 years since I’ve seen my family,
Please take me to see my Uncle Fred,
Please take me to see the cousins I’ve never even met yet!
I don’t want them to know me as “That Boy”,
I want them to see me as a bridge,
I’ve been attempting to send postcard promises assuring them that soon enough,
The path restricting me and my family will be gone,
But that restriction is you, dad.
You don’t even bother to look past your own selfish needs,
To let your own son laugh and eat with the family he never sees,
I’ve engraved my hope on a block of ice and placed it over the bruises that my heart has endured,
And in letting it melt,
To wash away all the despair,
Because water, like rain, will wash away all the pain, if you let it,
But water, like tears, is a remedy that only lasts temporarily….
I still have more to add but that’s all I got for now for my 1st draft.
Today, my poetry team and I met up at Gretchen’s house to discuss what are we doing for the Finals? As in what pieces and what subjects we will talk about. Gretchen asked us when was a time where each one of us individually cried so hard and we noticed that John Paul, Chris, and I all had problems with our father. So we decided that the 3 of us are going to collaborate and do a team piece on our fathers. This is going to be a really deep poem, but I can feel that it’s going to be great.
Once upon a time when your text messages would illuminate my phone screen with adorable compliments,
Oh so pristine,
When my right thumb would race my left thumb,
Each going neck and neck to see who can type my bashful replies faster,
Your angel wings flew me up to cloud 9,
Our brainwaves would intertwine to our silly phrases like “booboo, you’ll always be mine”,
But a change was brewing in your words,
Your holy grail because a cauldron filled with poisonous potions,
Your voice that used to be as soft as sand suddenly became shockwaves that left no peace towards the oceans,
Your angel wings were ripped off.
Bat wings took their place.
“You’re not good enough!” you said.
“Change the way you talk! Change the way you dress!” you said.
Uhm, EXCUUUUUUSE ME?
And all of a sudden you said, “Because without me, you’re nothing.”,
On that night, you ran over a dove and used its blood to paint the words ‘Fuck You’ on my window,
For long, lonely nights, I felt like an empty vessel,
Thinking about that dove,
After you struck it,
Did you see it’s innocent feathers flying off like prayers hoping to land somewhere safe?
That maybe it wasn’t me that needed to change.
It was you.
I don’t need you to love me.
I got my sisters, they’re always there by my side,
I got my friends, they’re always there when I cry,
I got my mother, and boy she knows how to feed me right,
I got my hands, to lift myself up when I’m down,
They’re able to pick up a pencil and illustrate stunning images that flow out of my cinematic mind,
They’re able to move mountains,
Pushing away all the obstacles that stand in my way,
Leaving me nothing but a smooth path filled with dream cloud skies,
And though they may seem impossible to touch,
It’s my hands that’ll be there to help me climb.
I got my house that still keeps the cold out,
I got my bed to lay on when I’ve tired out,
With a fridge to get food whenever I want to pig out,
There’s no room for your chess game,
I am no longer the pawn of your scheme,
Knight to E4! Checkmate.
Or should I say check yourself?
If you think that your love is my only life support then you’re greatly mistaken,
This new found fire inside me has just awakened and it’s burned through the holes in my eyes,
And even though they can’t see as far as they used to,
It’s melted away my blindness and now I can see people for who they really are,
No more blurred images where my naive heart leads the way,
But through glass windows,
I can see right through you.
You resemble the glue in my keyhole,
Negating me from unlocking my true self and fully realizing the true definition of Selfworth,
You know what? I got myself.
I am beautiful.
I may not have bulging biceps but I am strong like an ox,
You may come off as sweet and sincere but in reality, you’re as sneaky as a fox,
If you don’t believe in miracles then look me straight in the eye and you’ll find one,
Because never in a pirates treasure chest would I ever think to find happiness without the gold,
I don’t need you.
Because I already have everything I could ever want to be happy,
And you’re just the plus one.
[still figuring out an introduction]
I got my sisters, they’re always there by my side,
I got my friends, they’re always there when I cry,
I got my mother, and she knows how to feed me right,
I got my hands, to lift myself up when I’m down,
They’re able to pick up a pencil and illustrate stunning images that flow from my cinematic mind,
They’re able to move mountains,
Pushing away obstacles that stand in my way,
Leaving me nothing but a smooth path filled with dream cloud skies,
And though they may seem impossible to reach,
It’s my hands that’ll help me climb.
I got my house that still keeps the cold out,
With a bed to lay on when I’ve tired out,
With a fridge to get food just so I can pig out,
There’s no room for your chess game,
I am no longer the pawn of your scheme,
Knight to E4! Checkmate.
Or should I say check yourself?
If you think that your love is my only life support then you’re greatly mistaken,
A new found fire inside me has just awakened.
This fire has burned through the holes in my eyes,
And even though they can’t see as far as they used to,
It’s melted through my blindness and now I can see people for who they really are,
No more blurred images where my naive heart leads the way,
But through glass windows,
I can see right through you.
50% empty gestures and 50% of you occupies your ego,
You’re disrespectful, you resemble the glue in my keyhole,
Negating me from unlocking my true self and fully realizing the true definition of selfworth.
[haven’t finished yet /: … But yeah, thoughts?]
