In a city that never sleeps
At 1am the trains have stopped
But jeepney engines roar
You can see a few dressed in ragged
Shouting, sometimes laughing
Their dark skin burnt
By stinging rays of reality
At most times you will see a few going through
Garbage bags and bins for salvation
Just like how they go through
The bulks and ******* of everyday life
At 1am the most interesting people come out
Friends, lovers on a rendezvous
Waiting in line
Hungry
A 68-year old man
Ready to clean up and opens doors for everybody
A teenage girl sitting
Plain bored and disinterested
Until a much older man comes up
Asked a few questions
Then left together
Kids hitching on maddened wheels
Jump off and ask for alms
Ready to grab whatever catches their attention
Like how they hold on to questions
Which their parents fail to answer
At 1am you will see
Street lights and dark alleys
Stop lights blinking red to green then orange
And back to red again
People cross the streets
Cautious, guarded against shadows
Lurking on the darkest corners of the streets
At 1am you will see
The ****** and the blessed
The ill-fated and the comfortable
Mix up on the streets
You may decide to
Go on watching
Or
Put your cigarette out
And call it a day
But for people alive at 1am
Life goes on
In a city that never sleeps

-Malaya Sanchez

Babalik pa ba?
Ako pa ba'y aasa?
Na ikaw ay babalik kapag ako ay nag-antay

Kay hirap tanggapin
Na ngayon ay hindi ka na sa akin
Nakasandal, nakatabi buong magdamagan hanggang mag umaga

Ipaliwanag mo kung bakit ba
Dahil ako ay umaasa pa
Na ika'y mahagkan, makayakap
Muling makausap
Bawat sandali

At kung makita kang kasama siya
'Di maiwasan na ako'y manghina
Magmamanhid ang katawan
Gulong-gulo na ang aking isipan

Babalik pa ba?
Alam mo namang ikaw lang ang aking iniisip
Mula pag gising at pag-sapit ng dilim

Tila suntok sa buwan
Hinahanap ka kung san-san
Na lang ako napapadpad ngunit di ka parin matagpuan

Babalik pa ba?

I went through the sidewalk on Pedro Gil and Taft
The blaring red and green traffic lights
Sort of obscured the view through my spectacles
In the early Manila evening

The smell of cancer in the air
Complimented the noise of the jeeps
That raced through the intersection
As the sun slowly sunk at the sight of the moon

I saw faces less and less
As the broken street lamps flickered
Some people were minding their own business
Others shouted and laughed in the street

I saw people gripping onto their bags
Like they gripped onto their lives, because the city is never safe
Especially at the dusk
Where all the thieves come out to play

The noise may reach above heaven
And the air may be as ***** as the sewers
But there is no other place
That I would consider home

I woke up
in the midst of eight
sunlit is staring at me
through my windows
decisions are waiting.

Down below
people are crumbling
life is breathing.

Today is a fresh start
like models on runway
in this ***** street
fierce is indeed.