Charlz dela Cruz

There was once a boy who wanted to touch a star
So he raised his hands to the night sky
but then realized that it was too far

Moved with pity, the Moon told the boy
a little secret: To reach the stars, you should change
into the wind

So the boy climbed the highest mountain he could find
to talk to the Wind:
How can I be like you? he asked
To be like me is to become light replied the Wind
light enough that your breath could carry you
high up to the cosmos
How is that possible? the boy asked

Let go of everything the Wind answered
Let go of all expectations, anger, and doubts
But have faith in God
or at least in the miracle of being alive in this big 
and uncertain world
Only then can your heart leap out of your chest
to heaven, with love
and the force of your dreams

Here is the secret: Your soul is made of stardusts 
You belong to the stars.

I want it green, raw and wild
fruits, leaves, and seeds
and the wet soil
the fresh new-born air 
sunlight skin, bathing
in pure, crystalline water
as it should be 

But they have constructed poor structures and systems of living
They have covered the stars with their hands
They have doomed everything with their greed, echoing:
money, fame, power, money
While true souls are burning, yearning

How I love to look at you
And stab a dagger into your throat
Whole falling star and a nightmare

I pray, “Earth, Earth…”
As a bird sits on my shoulder, wishing
that everything was on fire.

“All the world’s a stage”
And if you wear
The same old mask
For too long
You might forget
Who you are.

“All the world’s a stage” – from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

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Espiritus (and other poems) is a chapbook of poems  from the Otherworld the Neverland   to the Moon  and Stars.

Every night, her soul leaves her body
and dances with the devil
They hang on a string of moonlight
and sway to a silent rhythm

He loves her
sometimes she loves him too
Nonetheless, they always dance the night away
and hold each other as if they were dissolving

Someday, surely she will dissolve into ashes and stardusts
and he will have to dance alone
His hands will miss her hands
and his feet will search for her feet

But tonight is unlike any other night
They do not just float, kiss, and bend
for they shall dance to the edge of the world
Never to return.

She wanted to eat the Moon
That is impossible I said the Moon is too big
Do not be hilarious she laughed
and held a coin up to the Moon
It is even smaller than this coin
I will eat it like an almond
Moments later, I heard that she rode a Lemurian crystal orb
and flew to the Moon

Next evening, I saw the crescent Moon
and realized that she was probably living her dream
of eating —
eating the Moon
Worried that no Moon might be left for humanity
I rented a helicopter and flew high up into space

I found her, sitting on the Moon
as if thinking of the right way to bite it
How are you? I asked
Come and sit beside me she smiled
I do not think I still want to eat the Moon she said
That is strange, why not? I asked
From here, everything looks more beautiful she answered
The Earth looks like a dream as it should be
And if I eat the Moon, we would not have this place to sit together

She reached for a star and plucked it
I can have this instead
Would you like some? she asked
No, thank you I replied
She whispered a wish into …

Fleshed out in flames, my hands
find your body
in every direction
I tiptoe to the stars
and meet your timeless eyes
Your back arches
like a naked mountain
catching the rain
You are water
with a body of fire, fingers of wind
your earthen mouth full of summer
Trapped under the tresses
of your hair
I look at you
as one looks at the moon
Whole star, whole dream
And the heart of the sky beats
with echoes of your name.

She is burning in beauty
yet she is not aware of it
Not aware that the whole world
is burning with her
Burning from her lips, burning
To her fingertips, to the trees
and the grass, burning
to my longing arms

It is I who see her burning
yet I who feel it
with every move

My eyes are red, my heart
swells, burning
each time the wind strokes
her hair,
burning.

Over there, through the valleys, on top of a mountain
there is a bean, a magical bean
It is hidden in a garden
that no one today has seen

It is guarded by a troll
who lives underneath a tree
If you can find the garden
then it is the troll that you will see

But every night, at 1 am, when the troll goes to sleep
is the perfect time to sneak into the garden and steal the magical bean
It is between the troll and the white sheep
Just be careful not to wake the troll from his sleep
They say that if you eat the magical bean
then you can wish for anything
So one day a boy goes into the garden
eats the magical bean, and makes a wish for a golden ring

The troll wakes up and eats the boy
and places another bean
between him and the white sheep
Because trolls never sleep.

There was a green elf
playing his pipe
on top of a tree
When beautiful Mathilde
walked towards me
And then Mathilde, o sweet Mathilde, kissed me

A rose bloomed up to her knee
so I plucked it out
and gave it to her
and Mathilde loved me
The next day was as young as dawn
when I woke with Mathilde
lying next to me
I waited for inches and hours
for her to open her eyes
so I could kiss them and kiss them
Home of my soul, envy of the stars
But Mathilde did not wake that day
nor the next
So I went to the tree
where she first kissed me
And I asked the green elf
I said, "Mr. Elf, what should I do?
My Mathilde does not wake up to me."
"O, that is easy" Mr. Elf answered"Just kiss her on the lips
But if it does not work
come back to me."
I rushed to my Mathilde
and hurried like wind to kiss her on the lips
I blushed upon seeing her, thinking
"What beauty, what art"
And then I kissed her, slowly
passionately, wearing my heart on my lips
And then I yelled and cried
For her lips were cold and …