Words have always held the power to change the course of one’s thinking with poetry being one of its avenues to the human psyche. Although the latter style is magical on its own, spoken word poetry brings a different power to a piece if it is performed live. Through speech and emotion, the poet can bring their piece to life themselves and fully deliver their message without the fear of their words being misinterpreted.
Brian Vee is one such performer of spoken word poetry who has performed at various gigs and large events in the Philippines such as the 2016 Every Nation Campus One Campus Conference held at the Philippine Sports Arena. When not on stage, he is a graphic designer and YouTuber with 30,000 subscribers, as of writing, on his channel “veeclips.” Through his YouTube uploads, those who are unable to attend his gigs have access to his spoken word pieces especially during this time when COVID-19 has prevented mass gatherings including gigs and other live performances.
His awe-inspiring piece titled “TAKIPMATA” is one of his most viewed spoken word videos. Uploaded in 2019, it has currently been viewed at least 137,700 times. Vee has mentioned that this used to be a secret piece he only performed at gigs where he asks the audience to close their eyes as they listen to his performance. However, since he has mentioned that he hardly does any gigs in recent years, he chose to share this masterpiece with the world through social media.
“Inukit Niya ang Kanyang pag-ibig sa ilalim ng talukap ng ating mga mata.”
Superb is not enough to describe Brian Vee’s performance of “TAKIPMATA.” His raw emotions when reciting well-written lines cut through the listener’s very being, ensuring that his poem remains with them even after his performance ends. Coupled with this heartfelt delivery is the piece’s powerful message of never giving up.
In line with the author’s use of the word “takipmata,” the title in English is “Eyelids”, the part of us that threatens to close when we listen to a boring lecture, that bursts open when we see something or someone we love. There are multiple references to eyelids in the poem, revolving around the core theme of God creating them so that we may be able to close our eyes for a while, to rest and regain our strength when we are fighting our toughest battles.
Whether you personally belong to a religion or not, the poem of this message is universal: Life is so short that there is no time to be apathetic, to think that we are not capable of overcoming whatever challenges life throws at us. As the poem tells us, we must keep fighting, and even rest when we need to. However, we have to make sure to open our eyes once more with a renewed strength because the day will come, whether we like it or not, that we have to shut our eyes forever.
If you wish to listen to the performance, the video is available on Youtube. Remember to close your eyes before you hit play to fully savor the masterpiece that is “TAKIPMATA.”
