Patula tula lang pag may time

(alay sa mga taong naiwan ng EDSA People Power at inaantay pa ang kanilang araw ng paglaya)


Ang makata sa burol

Mula sa kanyang kinatatayuan
sa gilid ng burol,
tanaw na tanaw ng makata ang lahat:

Kita niya ang waldas na landas-
ang mga kinalbong bundok na hubad na sa kayamanan
at ang tigang na kapatagan na animo’y nakakumot ng kahirapan
na gawa sa barong barong at basura

Mula sa malayo ay dinala sa kanya ng hangin
ang taghoy ng mga taumbayang bumabaka sa buhay
na puno ng pagsubok at parusa

ngunit sa kabila nito, dinig din nya ang malutong na halakhak
ng mapapalad na iilan na nakalublob sa kasaganahan
sa gitna ng dumadaluyong na dagat ng karahupan.

At bilang makata, gumawa nga siya ng tula
hinabi niya ang pinakamagagandang salita
at bumuo ng malalalim na talinhaga

may talas ng punyal ang sumbat nya sa palalo,
sa nagtitiis ay may bigkas syang pampa-alo

Natanaw ng mga tao ang makata sa burol
at alam nila na siya ay  tumutula
pagkat gumagalaw ang kanyang bibig.
Malas nga lang at walang nakakarinig sa kanya,
at kung sakali man ay maunawaan kaya siya?

Pagkat ang lahat ay abala sa pagkayod
at pagkalkal ng panapal sa kumakalam na sikmura.

di na nila napansin ng biglang nawala ang makata,
kung ito ba ay umalis o nahulog sa burol

Wala silang kamalay malay na alay pala sa kanila
ang tula ng makata sa burol

Talambuhay sa postcard

Narinig ko habang nasa bookstore ako:

Isang tatay na may kasamang bata na nagtanong sa sales lady kung meron ba silang talambuhay ng mga pangulo ng Pilipinas.

Sales lady: Meron po.
Tatay: Nasaan?
Sales lady: sa likod po ng postcard ng mga Presidente may talambuhay doon.

Hindi ko alam kung matatawa ako o malulungkot sa narininig ko. Parang di ko maubos maisip na ang kwento ng buhay ng mga naging pangulo ng ating bansa ay kasya lang isulat sa likod ng postcard.

Nice message from Pope Francis

photo from internet

"We do not live better when we flee, hide, refuse to share, stop giving and lock ourselves up in our own comforts. Such a life is nothing less than slow suicide."

Hanging trash

At

 At a time when we are trying to reduce our use of plastic for environmental reasons, I wonder why in many places, people still use plastic banderitas as fiesta ornament.

And while people are quick to put up these seemingly indispensable ornament, they seem to be very slow in taking them down such that they become suspended trash and eyesores in no time at all.

I am sure if only we put our minds to it, people can come up with better alternatives and ways to decorate our fiestas and celebrations. How did people do it in the old days? Maybe we can just go back to it.

Appreciating Baguio

Even if  just for its cool climate alone, Baguio City offers an inviting escape from the searing hot temperatures of the lowlands. Add to this its pine trees, upland flora and the unique Cordillera culture of  its people, then there should be no reason why the city can not be an undisputed tourist haven.

But sometimes, in order to appreciate Baguio, you have to close your eyes.

Make believe that you do not see the dying trees and the balding mountains now overrun with concrete and metal.

Turn blind to the filth and litter here and there..

Ignore the charmless decaying structures brutally imposed on the sylvan landscape.

To appreciate Baguio, sometimes you have to close your eyes to the heartbreaking ugliness that assaults you.

The persistence of tradition

Every town in the country has a feast day it observes in honor of its patron saint. In our town of Pateros, the Patron Saint is St. Martha and her feast day is observed every second Sunday of February.

It used to be when the river running through our town was still large and navigable by boat, there was a fluvial procession where participants were showered by watchers with goodies and sometimes, even the local delicacy, "balut" for which Pateros is known for.

But times and things change. Since the river has almost dried up, the procession has become land based going around through the town's streets as participants dance to folk music.

As I watch the procession, I am amazed at the enthusiasm shown by participating community members from children to teenagers to senior citizens.  I am bemusedly puzzled at what motivates them to participate in this street parade with such great gusto.

People still throw goodies at the procession participants as they dance their way along but I do not think  this is the motivation for  them to keep on participating in this activity. There is also an element of faith or superstition in the people's participation as some believe that by taking part in the procession, they will be blessed and they will be lucky - or their prayers will be granted. One thing for sure the town fiesta brings out a deep community spirit which is not apparent on ordinary days.

As for me, I am actually  indifferent to the fiesta tradition. For me, traditions can be a good way to anchor ourselves with our past and foster community solidarity. But if these raison d'etre will be lost as a casualty of the changing times, then there may not really be any point to persist with certain traditions, especially if what is left of them are their socially pernicious legacy e.g. going into debt just to throw a feast, spending a fortune to show off etc.

Otherwise, if some traditions make people happy, then by all means, let us celebrate them.

Pupils don't lie

Some psychologists claim that by studying the reaction of the pupils while a person is speaking, they can tell if the person is lying or not. To do this, they simply video tape a person as he speaks and analyze his eyes later. This opens a new field of study called pupillomettry and if proven reliable can be used in addition to a polygraph to catch liars.

I wonder why our government has not used this method as aid to determine whether a person's statement is true or not, especially when it comes to finding out who is telling the truth specially in the current corruption scandal.