Being a warrior in the arena of life, I’m sharing my creed with you . . .
“I am what I am.
In having faith in the beauty and power within me,
I develop trust.
In softness, I have strength.
In silence, I walk with the Gods.
In peace, I understand myself and the whole world.
In conflict, [...]
I still keep the blond walking doll and soft old teddy bear back home. The very first imported toys I received from mother over two decades ago.
Twenty-six years of struggle in a foreign land which she now calls her home. She’s alone, sickly, old, and lonely. If you ask her what keeps her from [...]
You know you’re heading downhill when your thoughts take you to this lane:
“Having a darn sleepless night,
Beating myself up with crazy thoughts:
How to reach a soaring seagull?
Catch a crow’s laugh?
Handle unanswered ‘hellos’?
Listen to silent goodbyes?” . . .
Shift gear, amigo!
C’est le point de jour.
It’s daybreak
I’m still counting sheeps;
Sleep evades me
Chaos swirl in my head.
Donnez-moi peace of mind,
Conduisez-moi dreamland.
Sleep-stealer,
Laissez-moi tranquille!
Leave me alone, please.
Let me be off somewhere
Where no ghosts exist;
Let me be free from nightmares
That haunt me even when awake.
C’est le point de jour.
It’s daybreak
Phoebus, the sun’s awake;
Au jour d’hui qu’il y aura du soleil.
Today [...]
The last day of the year 2004. This thing about ‘losing direction’, ‘not having a definite plan’, blah blah blah… It all boils down to the same issue — purpose, which I’ve been raving about and agonizing over in the past week. Lanz shares the same sentiment. Don’t we all, at some point in our [...]
No matter how old we are, we will never outgrow our need for our own mothers especially when that need had not been met when we were kids. As an adult, I still long for my mother’s touch, her hug, her warmth, her approval, and her love. I long for her presence in my life. [...]
Sometimes demanding the truth from someone would be like asking him to strip his clothes off and bare his private parts to you. It is not always easy to come out with the truth. Some people are not ready to tell the truth just because we are ready to hear them. Just as people are [...]
I excavated the bridges
That linked our lives.
Don’t try to re-build
Don’t dare re-enter my life.
A wall now stood between us;
There is no way to get through
From your life to mine
Unless to dismantle it
Brick by brick
Until completely gone,
Totally way out of sight.
What we had was just a dream.
Here for an instant
Vanishing the next.
All of life is like [...]
I was barely a year in Hong Kong when I met a fellow ‘pinay’ on board a bus. On a twenty-minute ride to Central, she lamented her four-month ordeal on the job. The biggest thorn on the side? Another ‘pinay’ co-worker. My heart went out to her. We were on the same boat then. I [...]
“Abu, bye-bye, kiddo,” I said. Jus replied, “Abu, bye-bye, mommy.” It’s our way of ending our conversation, no matter what emotional state we’re in…angry, ecstatic, playful, whiny… abu. I’m not talking about Aladdin’s thief-monkey-friend Abu nor a name common in Mindanao. You won’t find its meaning in any English dictionary nor an Etymology book. It [...]
