I Have Lived

I may be Alienated from my kind, but I lived
That is all that matters, I lived
Nothing gets wasted
There is nothing to regret
I lived and the way I lived is what I have chosen
That is an accomplishment
That is my success
I have seen beauty
because I know horrid things
I have felt happiness
because I am aware of sorrow
I get alarmed at the sound of bloodshed
because I know music
I have spoken healing words to one
and I have wounded the heart of another
I have lived and I know I shall die
In all my understanding,
these are the only things that matter
These are the only words I want to leave behind

You Don't Need To Make It A Happy One

Photography by Tino Belarmino Castillo

It is your Birthday Tino. 

You don't need to make it a happy one. 

You go ahead and hurt others with the truth.

Raise your hand and flash it for the whole world to see

that you don't care.

Listen to the message in the dreams you have at night.

Let it be known that you are detached.

You have always been 

because you know that it is your gift.

What you do with your gift is yours to decide

a gift bears no judgment with it.

Go on, touch it some more

run it against the skin of your face

gently close your eyes 

raise your shivering shoulders

and inhale the serenity of solitude

Hold it there 

let the pulsation of your veins count the years

pour down the energetic silence

and lazily let go of the air. 

Memories

flashes of memories that define you

those are your trails

It is you Tino

Without them you are nothing

So remember who you are

let it go down to where it all began

backwards, there it is

go backwards

until you reach the point where there is nothing

and there you begin

Inhale

Fill your lungs with life

and cry

for that's the only thing you knew then.

When crying was over you learned

and learning made you survive

You keep on breathing

Let it go

Let life go

and let it return if it wants to

---Tino Belarmino Castillo

(written for my July 17, 2013 Birthday)

The View Of The Falcon

The view of the Falcon
(Watercolor by Tino Belarmino Castillo)

The view of the Falcon

Once upon a time, there was a boy walking in circles.

Soaring high up in the sky, was a mighty falcon with sharp eyes.

The falcon wondered why the boy goes in circles

So he glided down and landed on the ground

The boy stopped walking.

The Falcon examined his eyes.

Sadness, fear and confusion was there

When the Falcon asked why, water flowed out of the boy's eyes.

Never did he think that someone would ask.

As the boy explained, the Falcon listened

When it was all said, the falcon spoke

The boy understood

and the Falcon flew back up high in the sky.

In the next days, the boy built a boat instead of walking in circles.

He slowly shed his fears, confusion and sadness 

When he finished, he set the boat afloat in the sea and laid his back on it.

He watched the beauty of his life and everything around it

He allowed the the sea to drive the boat in any way

in there, he relaxed with a clean mind; watching the Falcon soar in the sky

with a clear understanding that from up there in the clouds

one can see almost the whole world

and the falcon sees nothing that the boy should worry about

That is why, to the boy, the Falcon said, 

"All your worries are just in your head."

          ---- Tino Belarmino Castillo