Quadricentennial Secretary

© 

My love, please take me far away;

Someplace like where we first met—

When alcohol was streaming through our veins—

In a sunset-coloured tent.

 

I had no intention of knowing you then;

You were meant to be only just an officer to me.

Little did I know, you were the soul mate

That back then, I couldn’t clearly see.

 

What is a soul mate?

Someone you love? Someone you kiss?

Is he someone you’d fuck, or someone you’d miss?

No, he’s simply just someone who fits you perfectly;

Someone who’s there to make you appreciate

The big black hole human beings live in.

 

When I was a kid I promised myself

I would never trust anyone but my family.

But then, you came along

With a panda in your comment.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I didn’t intend to get involved,

But I liked pandas too much.

So then there was me,

Being the nosey applicant of batch 2012.

 

We once laughed at the moon,

And at a street light that was just inside the campus.

We kept laughing at the strangest things.

Everything made no sense at all.

We were far from getting high,

We were everything BUT drunk.

But somehow the humour

Kept our friendship intact.

 

One year, seven months, and eleven days—

The exact time we’ve known each other.

One year, seven months, and eleven days ago,

We were on top of a mountain

And we celebrated your birthday.

 

Sooner I came to know that

You are a person of many laughs,

But also a person of many masks.

And through thick and thin,

I gained the privilege of ridding them one by one.

 

We were never romantic,

We were never sweet.

People kept forcing us in a relationship.

But we knew better—

We are something titles could never compare to.

 

It’s sad, because I know

You’re not a fan of poetry.

But let me grab this opportunity

To tell you that you are my sanctuary.

 

We fill in the broken pieces

We lost years before we even met.

“You are my better half”, someone once said…

Please let me keep you forever, my friend.

 

We will soon leave the playground we call UST.

We will build our own separate families.

I will marry a husband who will be

Unparalleled to you, surely and inevitably.

And when my kid grows up and asks

About a soul mate I once had?

I will proudly say “I’m sorry sweetie,

But my soul mate is not your daddy.”

And I will point to you,

His or her godfather, his or her Tito.

 

And at night I will tell my child

“One day, you will also find the person who fits you just right;

May he or she be in a tent, in your school,

Or in a bar called Hanagob;

Just the person who can make you smile

Without a reason in the world!

Someone who will love you, but never tell you.

Someone who will care for you, but will never show you.

Then the two of you will create a bond—

A bond that not even a college degree,

Or an own family can break up.

And when you meet him or her,

Don’t ever let go!

Because if you do, I will burn your hair

And pray to the heavens it won’t grow.”

 

But that scene is far from today.

So while we have time, let’s keep it this way.

My love, dude, man! Please take me far away.

Let’s create more memories; more bedtime tales.

 

We will never have a “something”,

But we will never be a wasted story.

God, if there is one, did not create us to end together;

And now I realize that that is not a sad ending.

 

Was it a mistake to have joined that organization?

Whether it was, or it wasn’t: thankful, I am.

Because you were an awesome quadricentennial secretary;

And meeting you was the best part of my Mt. Talamitam.