The Explanation

For today, I want to explain the reason behind yesterday’s poem, “Found.” I feel that a lot of people may not really appreciate the poem because the message of the poem was not really laid out in simple words, like what I always do with my other poems.

Wednesday afternoon, while at work, I was listening to this song by the APO Hiking Society called “When I Met You.” For those who are not from the Philippines, I’m sure you don’t know who the APO Hiking Society are. Well, they are a legendary trio here in the Philippines. They have become a big part of Philippine music history. They have popularized, written, and produced some of the best songs that the Philippine music has ever known.

Their song, “When I Met You,” talks about the kind of love that changes a person. The first few lines go like this: “There I was, an empty piece of a shell, just minding my own word without even knowing what love and life were all about.” Then all the emptiness was filled when he found the girl who made all the difference. This is the chorus of the song: “You gave me a reason for my being, and I love what I’m feeling. You gave me a meaning to my life, yes I’ve gone beyond existing. And it all began when I met you.”

It’s a very beautiful song. It does not have just the poetic lyrics, it also has the melody that people can’t help but sing along with. I have loved that song for as long as I can remember. However, I suddenly thought to myself that not all loves happen like that. Some kinds of love start by being hesitant, repressed, even learned. Sometimes, we are not empty shells who are just waiting for the right person to listen to our hidden melody beyond the emtiness. Sometimes, we are the shining star that people can only look up to. Sometimes, we are achievers who are not searching or waiting for love at all. But love still finds its way to us. Sometimes, we do not even realize that we are already in love with somebody until the second that we are torn away from the person.

This is why I had the irrevocable urge to write a poem. I wanted to write a poem about a love the did not make the skies any bluer, the roses any sweeter, the birds any more melodious. I wanted to write a poem about a love that was simple, that never changed anything at all, that never made things better. I wanted to write a poem about a love that was just as simple as love can be.

The poem is about a love that did not make the sun shine any brighter. It was about a love that did not bring any sunshine at all. But during the dark of night, was always there, to hold you close, to keep you warm, to make sure you are safe. It is about a love that did not bring springtime, or any of the beautiful things. But it was a love that was constant and consistent whatever season you may find yourself in. I was about a love that was not new at all. It was not something new. It was a love that was familiar. A love that has always been there for as long as you had knwoledge of the word. It was a poem about a love that did not make two halves whole. It did not bind two people as one heart and one soul. No, these two people still had their own heart and soul, but they had the heart and sould that existed only for each other. Basically, I wrote a poem about a love that was not shiny, new, and beautiful. It was a love that was simple, familiar, and unchanging.