Sometimes,
maybe oftentimes,
I’d wish
I could just
vanish
disappear
off earth’s face
leave behind
forget all this.

But I am
such a coward.

And so I
sleepwalk onward,
smiling wanly at
shadowy flowers
I spot
along my gloomy path.

I bear
the burden,
silently complaining,
and keep on plodding
along this path
leading I know not where
with no end
in sight.

Why then
do I
keep going?
What is
the point
of pointlessly
existing?

The answer
is simply that
I am such
a big coward.
And hoping
that somehow
this life would
perhaps have some
kind of meaning.

(Eric S.B. Libre is a Mindanawon freelance development consultant who has done some work in a number of conflict-affected areas of Mindanao and occasionally dabbles in creative writing. He lives in Digos City, and is proud to be a senior citizen.]