“Stop acting like a kid” The daily reminder of my mom every time I buy power ranger robots just because I can “You are not a child anymore” An angry reply from my girlfriend every time I mock her yU Eer nUt ey cHIld enYmOrE *insert spongebob meme* “Don’t think like a kid” The constant reminder of this society for every word that your hands make which are not found in the dictionary of the allowed actions for every appropriate age. Make me understand like you’re explaining to a kid on why your own history book is on a grid as an insult to your very existence that was built by those pages of laughs and cries, truth and lies, enemy and allies Let me give you an advice, clearly you’re a blur with your angst, hate, regret, brother, you need to reflect as you are the insult to your own reflection on the water with the mud that builds the tension that splats your skin, the same skin that blankets your complexion from the moment you wailed up this moment you bailed you may be an adult but your skin is an insult for the denial that you’re still a kid Ineffable basis of your denial needs no jury for a trial When you’re still a kid that loves to run around in circles Memories of running with playmates are now angels your favorite playmates are now problems drowned in alcoholism you wish that this is not just a symbolism as you run further away and away and away from yourself, then you keep running and running, those butterflies are a within reach someday, but not today, not tomorrow, but someday The more you deny it, the less it become a lie as you’re still a kid that loves to play with houses made with pillows every night when stars refused to be bright, dinners are sorrows walls will collide as rains failed to cease, please your tears, fears, dreams, screams found their way home to your pillows as your damp pillows sang you a lullaby to sleep tomorrow you will weep again Ceteris paribus, how dare you deny that you are not a kid anymore? you still love playing hide and seek but counting one to ten is unnecessary as you frantically look around for an exit sign for every worry you look under the covers for hope that this will soon be over But no, now it’s your turn to hide from the mistakes you’ve made from the ticking of the clock, you’re afraid from denials and failures that cut like a blade Unfortunately, you’re not that good in hiding See? You’re still a kid like me and so does the rest of the world twirled, hurled, in this nonsensical absurdity called not-dying-and-continue-existing or “living” in layman’s term For us to fulfill Jose Rizal’s vision of “kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan” What you need is to be a kid For once, you did pretend that you were a Super Saiyan or Sailor Moon maybe you could pretend right now to be your own superhero that could save your own life from the bad guys inside your head For once, you did see a dragon or a dog among the cloud formations Maybe you could look up at the sky again with your imagination And give meaning to those clouds in a shape of courage, hope is your leverage, time to strip those band-aids For once, you did believe in magic or santa claus Maybe right now, for one final applause you could believe in one more magic That somehow somewhere even kinda tragic everything will turn up just the way we imagined it when you were just 10 years old See? You’re still a kid like me And so does the rest of the world
