Tojie Tuliao

Ateneo De Manila University

Shrink (psychotherapist), psychology instructor,

Aquila Legis Fraternity

Music, Books, Philosophy

Libra

Hide-And-Go-Seek

What you see
are my invented masks,
collected images of
self-protection.
Reality is whatever
you would have me be.
I lurk somewhere inside,
saving myself for those
who bother ask.
My door opens
from your side only.
A protection, I suppose
that rewards lovers
and lets the passers-by
pass by.
Turn the knob
whenever you choose
and pray you find
the creator
as worthy of your love
as his creations.

Renaissance Maker

You have opened me up
like a clenched fist,
strectching the tendons
of my mistrust
a finger at a time
so I can feel you better
and touch you more.

You have let me inside myself
enough to listen at times
i once used only to
gather my thoughts
and prepare my defenses,
so I can be a safe place
to store your intimacies.

You have corralled the
stallion in my mind,
freeing me of the fictions
of power and possession,
making you a friend,
so my maleness rides you only
horizontally, with your consent.

You have declined the credit
and left unopened the
flowered presents of my gratitude
and once again your instincts
make you logical to me,
for with all your passion
you could not have done this without me.