Poems
A collection of poems that examines and raises awareness about various socio-political issues. These works capture the essence of its writers and is a vessel for them to speak their truths.
A collection of poems that examines and raises awareness about various socio-political issues. These works capture the essence of its writers and is a vessel for them to speak their truths.
The Rough Around the Diamond
by Gillian See
The worst thoughts of the mind are those that fabricate themselves into your head once you lay in bed. In those moments it can feel as if you’re left floating in an endless sea, pondering on the unanswered or what could have been. A question that finds itself washed to shore is “What makes you special?”. A tidewrack that has remained buried in the continuously dissolving sand. How can you find yourself back at shore when the tidal waves push you farther than you once were?
What These Hands Carry
by Bel Lagdameo
What are we, if not the life laboured out of the love of our ancestors? Their love for our country, our people, and our freedom resounds forever in our own blood— the one thing that can never be taken from us. This poem reflects upon this concept and expresses the desire for opportunities to create a lasting change in our palimpsest of a history.
In collaboration with the SHS English area to celebrate the 2024 English Week Celebration with the theme,
“Voices for the Earth: Championing Climate Justice through Language and Literature”
A Mother's Timeless Remembrance
by Kiersten Alaban
In light of the Oposa V. Factoran case, it is crucial that humanity recognizes climate change as an intergenerational issue. This poem portrays this sentiment from the perspective of the Earth. As it bears witness to human actions, it further reflects on how the continuity of human life depends on our environment. On the other hand, even without human life, the earth will endure. Therefore, we understand that all of our actions toward the environment have consequences for future generations, and we must act before the opportunity perishes.
When I'm Gone
by Felicia Boñales
Taking inspiration from the film Postcard from Earth (2023), this poem showcases the beauty in life but also the reality of how we’ve treated this beautiful gift. It’s supposed to engage the feeling of gratitude but also the fear of losing it all because of our own actions.
The Air is Filled With Blood
by Gillian See
A young Filipino journalist feels frustrated as for the last few months of summer there had been an eruption of extreme heat waves within South East Asia. Out of curiosity, she began doing research on the matter, reading news and watching the news. While she was aware of the heat waves connection to climate change, she wanted to learn more about its root causes and why it was so prevalent in that particular time period. As she was doing so, she had learnt of the genocide in Gaza that resulted in a substantial amount of carbon emission being released due to Israel’s bombings. The rest of the poem expresses her anger for the abuse in power and how it has affected the environment of uninvolved countries, although leaving those involved with a clean slate.
Fish Eye View
by Bel Lagdameo
In collaboration with an artwork from the Creatives committee, this poem takes the ironic perspective of marine animals encroaching upon human habitat. It forces the readers into the place of a being engulfing and destroying their own familiar home without second thought for its detrimental consequences, much alike to the human actions that have placed over 21,000 marine animal species at great risk. In the end, the poem’s persona attempts to defend their actions but is faced with the reality of their moral complacency. It begs the question of how much power we truly hold in our actions— or inaction?
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