Funny Things (No Sleep Is Dangerous)

Funny Things (No Sleep Is Dangerous)
by Plaridel Batatan, Jr.

Moments of no sleep
Seduce you into a sudden shock
Of induced imagination retarded-ness

Stuck in the middle of a snoring class
While the sun whistles and the rain teases
As men wear make-up and girls shave their heads

A little chimp with butterflies for eye-lashes
Slings to and fro on rainbows and dried out clouds
His purple-orange-yellow fur secretes glitter and confetti

An elephant made of jello, rice, and walnuts
Rides a turkey wearing a skirt, a hood, and socks
Both laugh and giggle like paparazzi cameras with flash

The chewed up gum marches from my mouth
She turns into a cardboard replica of King Kong
But she sounds like Tina Fey and sings like Jonny Lang

The walls tickle themselves with color
Corners dance with silly looking triangles
And the floor is doing the worm like a professional

The trees outside clap with coconut leis
And Lily Allen dances in, beaming with disco lights ensnared in her hair
Giant Whip-Cream cans and Bananas invade the dancing room

It's never a good idea to go without sleep
Whether it's a day or two, or even a few hours
Craziness is always a choice

Leave My Head

I thought the skies were blue again
I thought the birds' songs were joyous
I thought the flowers were in bloom
I thought the air seemed cool

I thought it all
I thought of all the good thoughts
I thought it all
But it wasn't, none of it was

Lingering behind the corridors of my dreams
My twisted, ill-ridden dreams
Are the memories of you
Playfully taunting my broken self

Why do you tear me to pieces, love?
When I have loved you a million lifetimes
You still did not attend to my beckon
And even turned wholly away from me

In times we were alone, your fingers
Your lovely fingers
Galloped like ghostly horses across my back
Those cold, lifeless fingers

Leave me be then, love
For you have said with your own mouth
Spitting forth the songs of your heart
That I am nothing to you

Let me go then, wretched love
For you have nailed into my skin
Using hammers I trusted you with
A self-hate like no other

Leave my head, beautiful darling
My dearest, my lost love
I shall write of you and our love
Then think of you no more

For what good will there be
What wonderful thing will be begotten from this
What shall we use to inspire others like us
You give no answer, for there is no answer

As our hands once met before
As our lips touched for the first time
As our spirits became one
I beg of you to let me go

We may no longer be
We can no longer be
We must no longer be
Anything more than this

So leave my thoughts be
Let my dreams grow and thrive
Let my heart live again
And let yourself find life once again

Come To Surface

Come To Surface
by Plaridel Batatan, Jr.

I sink below the depths of my thoughts,

The chasms and caves of my beating heart

Lost in a labyrinth so massive,

So elaborate, a maze seemingly unmatched

I dare to dive into that black space

Whose eyes had tricked me once before

To stare into your eyes

To burn in your gaze

I dare to drown myself beneath that unforgiving space

Whose alluring voice had lied to me

To hear you speak

To be romanced by words soaked in passion

I dare let that insatiable sea swallow my spirit

Whose scents and fragrances led me astray like a drunk

To smell the smell I find on you

To wander across your body aimlessly

I tremble

For the grasp of your hands

To curl your fingers into mine

Where they fit so perfectly

So effortlessly in place

I shudder

For the brush of your breath on my skin

To feel the slow heat from your arms

Where my thoughts for you roam freely

Meandering wildly

I quiver

For the dawdling collision of torso and lips

To intertwine legs and lock toes

Where my feet lay unhurried, unbothered

Oblivious to the travels ahead

I convulse

For the moments I glimpse you beside me

To share thoughts and memories

Where our playful spirits mingle and flutter

Galloping into the breeze

I dream madly of you, love

And I await for that day to come
When you and I will catch each other
In an everlasting, tender embrace

Only then shall I come to surface
As a whale from the watery abyss would to breathe
Only then shall I feel able to respire again
Knowing my reason to breathe is by my side

Does The Sun Shine At Night?

Does The Sun Shine At Night?
by Plaridel Batatan, Jr. 

That morning sky
When bubbles full of rainbows flutter
In ocean breeze and grass that tickles

When the clouds dance by
And the joyous laughing and chatter
Whilst the pollen with the drizzle mingles

Does the sun shine at night?

I saw a couple of rainbows shatter
When a field of flowers wilted
And the ocean wailed into insanity

When the clouds seemed battered
The laughter and chatter jilted
And the bubbles died with vanity

And we lost the sunlight to the night

I could barely breathe
I can barely even stand
Was it because of what I said?

My body trembles as my blood seethes
The flesh underneath scrapes my skin like sand
Was it because of what I did?

I miss the sunlight and it's life-giving warmth

In the midst of all the doomed tragic love songs
In the middle of all the jeering broken hearts
Could the sun still shine?

As the moments and memories seem distorted and wrong
And dreams hopelessness thwarts
Will the sun still shine?

Many say the sun shines at night, but only when love is nearby