Christmas Time Is Here (Cover)

I See The Light (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi Cover)

an original by Gabes Torres

In our waiting,
We sing of a light
The one we’ve always longed
That overwhelms the dawn
Jesus, the hope of every song

A holy name 
Once found in ancient words 
He came
Into the fullness of the night
The meek of us all sighed
At the sight of Heaven’s King

He is here, and He is yet to come
He’s with us in our hopes, our wounds, our joy, our fears
He is then and now 
Closer than every breath,
He bids us all to rest and wait
For our truest day of peace
The world yet to come
The light that overwhelms the dawn

Have we heard
He’s come to bring us love
The comfort of our cry
That brings all creation
To our true name and cause and life





He is here, and He is yet to come
He’s with us in our hopes, our wounds, our joy, our fears
He is then and now 
Closer than every breath,
He bids us all to rest and wait
For our truest day of peace
The world yet to come
The light that overwhelms the dawn

That same star will lead us home
O let us come, let us adore

The Light That Overwhelms The Dawn (draft)

Dear you, so many things are left unsaid
Like the prayer to finally rest your head
To be chosen as you are
With your face, your voice, your smiles and scars

Dear you, you hold my tears from being unseen
Salty tears that touch the wounds on your brown skin
You’re more fluent with these tears than with words
But how much does it take to be heard?

Mahal ko, ipagtapatawad mo at hinayaan ko
Napunta sa iba ang respeto ko
Nandito na ako, at ika’y pipiliin
Nararapat sa iyo ang aking awitin

Translation:
My love, I ask that you forgive me
My respect belonged to someone else
I’m here now – choosing you
You are worthy of all my song
---------------
This song is written about my body and to my body—the body of a Filipino woman that is oftentimes invisible and misunderstood. 

As a minority in the United States, there have been countless moments when I intentionally assimilated in order to survive and to belong. This involved actively rejecting my body for approval and safety--which I wasn't aware were a false sense of approval and safety.

The song is a letter of apology and gratitude to my body. I apologized for the times I participated in the process of being invisible through my assimilation. Here, I also thanked my body for being the home that continues to hold me. It is  precisely the home that makes me resilient, and the home that has been holding my heart and keeping me alive. 

In the end, I combined this track with a song by Sam Cooke to emphasize how my personal experience with this type of injustice is a collective experience that minorities suffer from.

To: my Body

note from creator: here is a poem addressed to white folks about what they might expect when they begin to date PoCs/immigrant/mixed race folks.



Approach with caution

And curiosity

for I bring a story, beyond you and me

With my lips, you kiss and taste the sweetness of my mother tongue

And an appetite for the sand, the shore, the sun



I am a hurried creature who can’t sit still when you begin to paint or sketch

the unfamiliar features of my face on your canvas



Afraid to be gazed upon longingly, to be smitten by, to be basked in

Are you ready? ready to hear my ancestors’ adoration

That they chanted to the fields and night sky,

the same adoration that emerge in my handwritten letters to you 

and my poetry about your eyes



are you ready to hear the cracks from my soul’s bones

as it braces itself to hear the next time the crowd  reduces me 

to a motionless,

rigid,

and lifeless idea that they tied to my skin tone? 

When all this time, its shade resembles the ground from which they stand on, 

and the very soil they want life from



Are you ready? Ready for a louder, more somber, maybe less sober,

Indecisive but creative, peculiar, and radiant phenomenon that is new to all your senses?



The phenomena of my love and of my passion 

for you, for my people, for our dignity and our rightful places



And when you are inside

are you ready for a palette, wider 

with more color, 

more taste, more language, 

more spice and sound

An expanding range of emotions from only two seasons all year ‘round



And a climaxing crescendo of tales and spaces you never knew could ache

while hearing lives that have passed on whose voices are still awake



Are you awake? Awake enough to believe that our lives exist and breathe in the same world

And yet, I have more to do for mine to be preserved

So baby, don’t be angry that whenever you say you love me,

it’s easy for me to run, to doubt, and to refuse

For choosing me in this world, for a lifetime, and even for a day,

You might have a lot more to lose



So approach with caution, and curiosity

For I bring a story-- oh just you wait, and see

Intrigued to hear about the creative process? Come find us at www.patreon.com/gabestorres
© 2019 Gabes Torres. all rights reserved.

Gabes Torres

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