For a blind person, the world they see is neither black nor white.

They dont know what that blank

space is. The colors splurging through their mind is an
enormous horizon of unknown. How would you be able
to describe the night to someone whos never seen
the color black? Or, more tragically, the color of the
rainbow?

We are constantly rummaging for the wonderful

aspects of life; we overlook the dark, starry night
coursing through the heavens as we watch tons of
movies, we forget the cheese-colored sunset as we
look down upon our shoes while sitting on the passenger seat, we fail to picture the unwavering form of
cumulous clouds as they sail through the blue sky and
we dont try to remember the good mornings radiating
from everyones smiles. If only we could just exchange
our televisions with the windowpanes that show the
night sky, the sunset, the clouds and the smiles the
joy the day brings. It is very sad to say that a lot of
us, nowadays, have gone blind to these kinds of
things.
In this issue of Luscinia, we, with closed eyes,
bring you the colors of everyday emanating imagination, burning passion, spreading peace and battling
compromise. This is a present for the wandering souls
who forgot the different hues of magic, love, serenity
and the unending emotions life can offer and to our
friends who were robbed of the enchantments that
weve forgotten to appreciate.
We hope that you, the readers, find joy in this
as it brings sparks to your eyes and as you share this
with our friends, find bliss as you watch them find the
music to their ears. Together, may all of us complete
our lives with the vibrant colors of the world that you
will discover from this literary collection.

- Maverick B. Orpiana & Patricia Maurie M. Mondala

MAVERICK B. ORPIANA
Editor-in-Chief
PATRICIA MAURIE M. MONDALA
Associate Editor
KIM PHILBY CORULLO
Copy Editor
Circulating Editor
JOSHUA MANGUNLAY
Managing Editor
GIAN RIANO M. GIANAN
Literary Editor

WILSON KERBEE S. CHUA

Art Director
MARY HARREN ESPIRITU
Patnugot ng Filipino
LIAN HABACON/PATRICIA MAGNO
Layout Artists
ALAYSSA KATRINA P. ILAGAN
News Editor

AZALEA MARAMBA
Photography Director
TRISHA SUACO
Webmaster
REV. FR. JULIUS PAUL FACTORA
R.N., O.P., J.C.D
Moderator
PROF. ELMER HIBEK, PH.D
Adviser

PURPLE by Patricia Maurie Mondala

Meeting the Deadline by Patricia Maurie Mondala ; Art by Marinel Teano
Limerence by Alyssa Balayan ; Art by Wilson Chua
Drink Me (Not?) by Patricia Maurie Mondala
Undercover by Maria Charisse Jimenez ; Art by Wilson Chua
The Pit by Maverick B. Orpiana ; Art by Raphael Collantes
Thank You! by Claudette Diego ; Art by Chantelle Cobarrubias
Cellphone by Mary Harren Espiritu ; Art by Marinel Teano
Morning Light by Kim Corullo
Tsubibo by Andrea David
Bulong by Seyufon
Blinded by the Light by Jeralyn Jacob Tolentino ; Art by Anonymous
Withered Rose by RA Reyes ; Art by Anonymous
RED by Kim Corullo
Dilemma by Anjelica Megan Baybay
Ecstasy by Juan Paulo S. Hidalgo
Day-Ruiner by The Inversed Butterfly ; Art by Wilson Chua
Pistanthrophobia by Lermalyn Leigh Reynoso ; Art by Patricia Danganan
Heroine by Kim Corullo ; Art by Ysa Marquez
Less Than Three by Patricia Maurie Mondala; Art by Marvin Claro
Isang Taon by Jannine Galimba ; Art by Ysa Marquez
Ukit by Seyufon ; Art by Angela David
Safe Haven by Lermalyn Reynoso
A Yesterdays Letter by JPAB ; Art by Anonymous
Red by Maverick B. Orpiana ; Art by Raphael Collantes
Tea by Kim Corullo ; Art by Raphael Collantes
BLUE by Gian Riano Gianan
Dedicated to You by Alayssa Katrina Ilagan ; Art by Raphael Collantes
Love? By Gian Riano Gianan ; Art by Chantelle Cobarrubias
An Open Letter To The Boy Who Fixed Me by Denise ; Art by Raphael Collantes
Waiting by Maverick B. Orpiana ; Art by Chantelle Cobarrubias
Takipsilim by Seyufon
The Girl I Know by Mnemosyne ; Art by Xenia Oabel
Pag-Asa by Mary Harren Espiritu ; Art by Chantell Cobarrubias
Isang Bagong Simula by Andrea David
GCS 15 by Anjelica Baybay ; Art by Mika Cruz
Pagkakaibigan by Mary Harren Espiritu ; Art by Angela David
Our Own Masterpiece by Gian Riano Gianan ; Art by Angelica Baybay
She Liked To Fix Things by Kim Corullo ; Art by Xenia Oabel
Her Superman by Lermalyn Leigh Reynoso
Free by Jeralyn Jacob Tolentino ; Art by Patricia Danganan
Karamay by Mary Harren Espiritu ; Art by Andrea David
Always by Jeralyn Jacob Tolentino ; Art by Anonymous
A Thought When She Comes by Paul Shimizn ; Art by Anonymous
Untitled by Rea Sarmiento ; Art by Anonymous
Set Sail by John McDavid Inocentes ; Arty by Chatelle Cobarrubias
GRAY by Maverick B. Orpiana
Am I Tough by The Inversed Butterfly ; Art by Wilson Chua
Sweet Revenge by Anjelica Baybay
Long-Awaited Holler by Anjelica Baybay ; Art by Carlo Cassipit
Whispers by Kim Corullo and Gian Gianan ; Art by Patricia Danganan
When the Snoozing Stops by Maria Charisse Jimenez
The Song by Maverick B. Orpiana ; Art by Ysa Marquez
Crossroads by Maverick B. Orpiana ; Art by Andrea David
Salamin by Mary Harren Espiritu ; Art by Angela David
Life Indeed by Carmel Libertine Noche
Fading Away by The Inversed Butterfly
Nobodys Home by The Inversed Butterfly ; Art by Wilson Chua

An elixir of existence unlike the sorceress potion,

which does nothing out of good intentions,
is the matter that breathes fire to the stars, our interstellar balcony
and the shield to the little natures little canopy.
The littlest of all the arches suspended above the now sultry horizon,
the windows that let pass the grim of depression;
it is a key to the lock that will unfasten a secret mystery,
like Englands Charles, and Diana, his lady.
It is the most unusual streak when the day curtains are closing in,
beneath the cheesy vast when all the rays are settling.
Never like the cold breeze and softer than the wind that tickles,
are the tiny particles in our fingers when we make a ripple.
This is a tiny speck of atom in the dull 1920s,
and the grating sound of impenetrable static on the telly.
A feeling during the night, when the world is quiet,
when seen tomorrow at dawn, one may feel dread.
A wizards robes hanging an inch above the floor,
the flames one can endure when the fireplace roars,
and the ashes that flew before the burning has finished,
are the tunes of the storm of cold and heat combined.
Imagine an enchantress walking through a forest,
with the silk on her back flying amidst the blowing air.
That is like the quiet bursting of a supernova inside our heads,
with drops of magic, a bucket of charm and smudges of secrets.

For Juju and the others

Waking up you see yourself standing on the edge of a pit. You look around. Amidst the darkness you see
horizons - seemingly endless, tiringly infinite. You look back at the pit. Squinting your eyes you try to see its bottom. You see waters saturated with blue and black, the stillness sending chills to your bones. Below the surface
something dark slithers, sending ripples in the calm. You cant make out its form. It looks up to you and you see its
eyes their eyes pairs of burning embers. With a gasp you turn back, and you see horizons. The air was humid
and the sun was scorching. You never liked travelling on foot. So you close your eyes and take a deep breath. You
take a step backward.
You fall.
The pit welcomes you.
Slowly you sink in, the water embracing you with warmth. Warmth that you felt once, a long time ago, when
you still knew how to laugh truly laugh from somewhere deep inside. You reach the bottom and something
slithers around you. It was them. They circle you, hissing whispers of comfort, trying to wrap you within their bare
limbs. You gasp, the water filling your lungs. Flailing you try to reach for the surface. You stretch your hands, trying
to grasp the refracted pool of light coming from above. But the water is thick as black oil. You whip your head
around. They reach for you. They have no form. You look them in the eye, and you see your own a pair of burning
embers. Then they scatter, slithering away. You scream.

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Blinded by the Light

Jeralyn Jacob Tolentino

Whats in the light that is so blinding?

Light that pierces through my eyes
Blinding me with vision
Squinting, closing my eyes a little more.
Operating my flaws, illuminating all these blur.
Most appreciate you in solemnity of the night
Oh light, shine on where darkness resides.
Barely freeing captives of the shadow-Light the love that rests cold in me.
Because some are totally blind
But still they see, the Light.

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It' s the first glance on a hot summer day,

the flickering candles on marble floor.
It' s the blood rushing to your cheeks
when your name rolled off his tongue,
the promises that escaped his lips.
It' s his laugh in the wee hours and your heart beating wildly in your chest,
the endless phone conversations until sunrise.
It' s the first time he held your hand,
his lips on your cheek.
It' s the lipstick on your lips
that stained wine glasses and his white handkerchief.
It' s all the words you had not meant to say,
the tears that stained your cheeks.
It' s the memory of his departure replaying in your head,
his farewell clinging to you like a scar.
It started as a flame that turned to a wildfire,
wildfire that consumed and burned all that you' ve built.
Wildfire, which left nothing but ashes.
It' s the friction of pen on paper,
the bleeding of ink as you wrote the memories down before they could fade:
the way you danced under the stars
the way you looked at him from the passenger seat.
It' s the color of his tie that he never got back, hidden in your bedside drawer.
It could be the endless questions and going around in circles, his arms wrapped around you once again.
It' s you, breaking through his illusions,
your final resolve to walk away from it all.

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A THOUGHT WHEN SHE COMES

Paul Shimizu
I woke up one fine mornFor love is not deaf, but
ing
blind
With her on my mind all
It makes the entire
day
towns bells ring
Minding every little
To see her smile like a
thing
child
That I dreamed my life
I think its the
away
pleasantest thing

I know a girl who had a gift for words

She keeps writing until her hand hurts
She would write with ink-stained hands
About the stories of her made-up lands
She admired the writers on the shelf
Wishing that she could be one herself
Knitting every word like a puzzle piece
Trapped in her world of ease
One night, the voices spoke
Asking her to stop as the dawn broke
Explaining the price of her desired wish
They told her it was the writers gift
She didnt understand the adjuration
Until she met a boy with adoration
The girl was enchanted with a smile
Little did she know it was a lie
The boy left with nothing to give
She turned to her stories to grieve
Then talked to the voices bargain
Asking it to happen again

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She begged and said she will not write

Too late to realize the voices were right
The price had been paid for her desire
After being left by a liar

UNTITLED
Rea Sarmiento

Set Sail

John MacDavid Innocentes

I never meant to set sail on such stormy shores
But the sound of your siren call is an invitation
I cannot ignore
I am drawn
Sailing deeper in your waters
I have waged wars on your waves that have push
us apart
Storms of lightning and rage
I have weathered
To reach the eye that calms
And provides a haven
to the weary
and the foolish

That I was

My desire to be a part of you is what anchored

me
As i drowned myself in your presence
Until My lungs collapsed from the pressure
of having loved you
As i fell deeper in your waters
I Gasped for the air
i surrendered in unspoken agreements
Sinking to the bottom
never reaching the end
Untill i did
And realized
That you are the ocean
And i Am just a man
Who fell in love with the ocean

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At times, when she hears the song in a coffee shop or when her iPod plays it on shuffle, her heart clenches in the same way it
does when she hears your name.
She doesnt know why she had to hear it that time, why the DJ decided to play that music when you peeled her off her skin
and let her walk home alone that night. Incidentally, when you turned and walked back to the dance with an intoxicated stagger, the
sky started to pour. And the way you said Sorry, I dont feel the same way, was still ringing in her ears when she turned to leave and
slipped, her body collapsing in the wet pavement without grace. She scraped her elbow and one of her high heels snapped, but these
things she barely noticed. The immense pain of her heart breaking - finally breaking after months of sinful torments and a night of
mindless caress - was too unforgiving that a skinned elbow and a broken shoe felt like mere itches compared to the catastrophic mess
you left her inside.
Two summers have passed since then. And sometimes when she hears the song her heart beats a second too fast and she feels
a bit dizzy. But shes doing fine. Sometimes she see you in the hallways and she doesnt feel like the world would stop anymore.
The problem is, when she falls in love, she falls in love hard and she falls in love with her all. And even though you played
her for too many times to count she loved you with her entirety. She doesnt really know why it was you that she fell in love with.
There were other people that time, others who may have fancied her or maybe even loved her the way she loved you. But she never
noticed them because there was you and for her it felt like you were everything that mattered. She used to see you in the hallways
with your friends and her sense of time always stops, and she becomes one of those girls who stare longingly at the boy they can never have. She unravels with each of your glance and melts with each of your smile. She was so, so, so in love that her heart constantly
wanted to burst whenever youre around.
And thats why its funny now, and its not a wonder if people judged her for the way she felt about you. As if you were the
only star left in the galaxy. Or at least, the only star that ignited her world. Dont worry, she find these things funny now as well. And
for that shes thankful, because lately when she hears the song she just smiles to herself and pinches her cheeks, embarrassed and
chastising herself for falling in love with a boy that she felt like she wanted to die.
But dont get that wrong. You cant blame her for feeling like a complete mess after she walked home dripping with February
rain and barefoot, her shoes long forgotten in that place where you left her and blood trickling down her skin, her entire prom night
ruined completely just like her. She doesnt blame you for that anymore which means she used to. In fact, a month later after that
night she cursed you and called you names in front of her friends, telling them shes totally over it and that she regret letting you ruin
her senior prom. But when the song started randomly playing in that caf she kept quiet and tried to stop her tears. It took all of her
effort not to break, at least not until she locked herself in the ladys bathroom for twenty minutes and her friends wondered where she
went.

But that was long ago, when the marks you left on her body still burned and she didnt want anyone to know. That she gave
herself - all of her - to a boy who was too drunk to care that her skin was fragile, too buried in his own shameless needs as he scoured
her skin inch by inch, his true nature unravelling in moans of selfish pleasure, or in her case, moans of searing pain. It was the same
boy she loved the first time he gently opened the library door for her and she was too flustered to say thanks, thinking how no one
ever opened doors for her. She told people that she was doing great and she was totally done falling in love with pale boys with a
perfect stubble. With a fake laugh and some thick make-up she told these to everyone and eventually convinced them, and after some
time she almost convinced herself too. But at night. At night she breaks.
Again, dont worry. She doesnt blame you for these things anymore. She doesnt blame herself either. She learned things like
these happen to people who chooses to be brave in love, and shes happy that shes one of those people who chose to love you despite
knowing that her heart might break in almost irreparable pieces. Thats a thing that doesnt happen to everyone. Some people spend

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their lives fearing, evading, or not knowing love at all. You didnt love her back, or at least you told her so, but she loved
you, and thats still love in one of its many form.

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Laro
sa Baga
( Para kay Tops)
Ikaw at ako
Magkalaro sa
Nagliliyab na baga.
Paindak-indak sa nakakapasong
Init. Init na tumutupok sa takot
At pangambang bumubusabos sa
ating nasang lumaya.
Patalun-talon sa nakalalapnos

na baga. Bawat taas-baba ng

ating mga paay masidhing panata
ng pagdurog sa tanikala ng
pangungulilang nakagapos sa ating
mga pusot kaluluwa.
Sa ibabaw ng mga naniningas
na bagay maingat tayong
nagpapatintero. Isang hamon

Engagements

John MacDavid Inocentes

To

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Carelessly i jump
Thinking that the impact
Of not being caught
Would not shatter these rigid ribs
That guarded my heart
But foolishness came
With its consequence
And i laid there
With a communicated fracture
And a splinted heart
Bones that once offered protection
Now bore holes
Deep within each layer
Allowing the blood my heart once carefully kept
To flow out like rivers of crimson red
Pale white with deathly shades of purple
I lay there
As You run by my side crying
Asking
Why was i so careless
To jump from such great heights
Thinking that someone would be there
catch me

sa ating katauhan ang tumawid

sa itinakdang hangganan. Sa bawat

kapangahasan, sa bawat pagpipilit,
sa bawat pagsuway sa batas ng
laroy nagtatapos sa mabunying taguan.
Mapanganib man ang pagtatagoy
pumapawi ito ng ating pagkabagot
sa inaasam na pag-iisa. Tunay!
Pag-iisang pilit tinutunaw ng mga
Naglalagablab na baga.
Magkaniig sa init samantalang
nanginginig sa lamig.
Magkaulayaw ngunit
Nag-uumapaw sa pamamanglaw.
Ikaw at ako
Magkalaro sa
Humahalakhak na baga.

Ikubli

Mary Harren Espiritu

mga ngiti'y may itinatago
mga galaw mong may kaakibat na pagsumo
hindi man umimik, mata'y sumisigaw sa sakit
bakit kailangang ikubli saya'ng ibabahagi
tatalikod sa katutohanan, lalagpasan ang kasinungalingan
wari'y walang napagmamasdan, ngunit katotohana'y kay linaw
mga salitang gumuguhit sa dibdib, ngiti'y
ipangtatakip
diwa ko'y tila na sa langit, katawa'y nailibing,
isip at damdamin naglaho na rin

Kumusta Ka

ibubulong ko na lang, "sana ako ang nandyan"

nakikita kang tumatawa sa piling ng iba, bakit
kailangang itago ang nararamdaman?
Jannine Galimba
wasak na kalooban, guta'y gutay na katau- Akoy walang nagawa nung sa akiy nagpaalam na.
han
Hindi ko rin inakala na ikaw ay bibitaw rin pala.
lahat ay lulunukin, wag lang mabuking
Mabilis ang pag-ikot ng mundo, ngunit sanay ikaw ay
nanatili sa piling ko.
ating pinagsamahan siya na lang iibigan
Kung kaya mang labanan ang sakit at hapdi, lahat ng
hindi man sa ngayon, magkakapanahon
iyon, oo marahil ay gagawin ko.
din.
Tandaan, lihim na pagtingin ay maisisiwa- Ngunit tulad ng sa pelikula at drama, ang ending ay
lat din
di na dapat ipilit pa
Hihintayin maubos man ang dilim
Ipauubaya sa tadhana, hihiling na sanay sa susunod
nating pagkikita,
Ang bangungot ng kahapoy naibaon na
At buong tapang kong sasambitin ang mga katagang
- Kamusta ka?
Kamusta ka?
Malapit mo na bang maabot ang iyong mga pangarap?
Siguro nga. O di naman ay natagpuan mo na ang ligayang hinahanap-hanap
Wag kang mag-alala ang nangyari sa nakaraay akin
na ring gagap.
Kamusta ka?
Sa palagay koy maligaya ka na sa piling ng iba;
Mahimbing ang tulog sa pagkakayakap niya;
At iyo na ring nakikita ang bukas na siya ang kasama.

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