Criminal Displeasure

Blog 490:

I gaze around the room
And spot again my mismatched furniture pieces
I grow weary …
I unpleasantly twitch …
I heave and sigh …
But not for very long!

In my head dance voices
Devilish thoughts nudge me:

“Haul them out and take them to the trash pile!”
“Find new ones you really like!”
“Hunt, Choose, Buy!”
“Money is of no issue these days!”
“Just charge it to the plastic!”

Raindrops

Blog 489:

Weatherly wet drops pour
Damp, Cold, Miserable
Rains bring little cheer to me
But the trees and the grass rejoice over their gift
Birds and woods’ creatures bathe and wallow in pools they create
I should not be so weary!

Holiday Meal-a-plenty

Blog 488:

Plan ahead
Make a list if you prefer
Shop and pick up the best dishes’ ingredients
And freshest of the greens and meats

A day before the gathering hour ...
Wash, peel, scrape …
Chop, slice, cut …
Boil, sauté, grill …
Grind, mix, stir …
Stand steady and long in front of the stove …

Review menu list for dish at a time successfully prepared
Sit and wait for oven timer to tell a dish is done
Enjoy the prep or get sickened by mixed aromas
Test, taste and pinch here and there
Toil all day and wait patiently …
Finally … all savory and deliciously-looking food are done!

Bring to the table
Listen to guests’ “oohs and aahs”
Sit and enjoy with family and friends
Another big holiday meal creation
Fit for a thankful crowd!

Shopping Madness!

Blog 487:

Early Bird Special

Exciting, frustrating, maddening
Queue, and then wait for store opening hour
With a throng of likeminded souls, rush in
Hunt for bargain items all around
Then line up once again
This time at a cashier’s station
Got what you went in for?
Was jostling with the crowd worth the while?

Shop & Save?

Grace in Uncertainty

 Blog 486:

At a celebratory gathering for a young mother-to-be
Guests arrive in trickle first
In a short while … in throngs
Pleasantries are shared
Followed by competitive, rambunctious chatter

Soon the unintelligible melody of voices merges
Until one distinct question asked silences the crowd:
“How long do you have before the baby comes?” one asks.

The soon-to-be-mother responds,

“In less than two weeks!”

“Are you excited?” asks another.

“I’m joyful for the baby, yes.”
She quips with a faint smile.
It will have a chance to live its life;
I can’t feel overflowing joy, though.
His eyes will be blind.
I grieve at her misfortune
And the burden she and I face ahead!”

Chatter dissipates …
But soon, the crowd of friends gathered thoughts
They strike plans ahead, and then declare:
“We shall walk with you and be by your side!”
“Let us find a teacher … a school for the blind child!”
“Be happy for the gift of life you carry!”

Life&Machines

Blog 485:

Advanced in age, a man lies in a hospital bed
Around him are machines and devices
Symphonically humming a sorrowful tune
Mourning what seems the inevitable demise of his mortal being
His loose, wrinkly skin show invasion
Tiny pricks of needles in and out of it show abuse
Blood clots smear his arms
And reveal the refusal of his veins to bear more assault
He continues to just lay there, eyes closed
Body at rest, though very tired-looking
It neither twitches, nor moves
He barely breathes a slow in and out breath now
Falsely appearing to hold on …
I wondered who chose to make him lie there
Hooked to those artificial life-sustaining apparatuses?

Seeker

Blog 484:

At sun up
Or when lights turn on at dawn
She jumps out of bed
Again ready to play and explore
Night’s rest revives her
Day’s brightness excites her
There she goes a-running
Down the narrow hallway!
Soon … she fits her pliant body into a cubby hole
It emerges on the other end in a rush
She begins to seek as hunters do
Observe her haul a fallen twig
Or pull out a bent bush branch
And like a spinning wheel
Dance with her find
Until she tires and falls flat out!

Hands

Blog 483:

Dry hands …
Wrinkled hands …
Scarred hands …
Daily, they surrender to warm and cold water
Washing, scrubbing everything and anything soiled …

Serving hands …
Giving hands …
Attentive hands …
Time and again, they lovingly hold up the bereaved
Comforting hurt, drying tears, caring for the sick and harmed

Affectionate hands …
Thoughtful hands …
Gentle hands …
Ever loving, they are quick to help and care
Sympathetically extending, soothing loneliness

Pain Gnaws ...

Blog 482:

Pain … unbearable pain!
Though undesired …
Muscle soreness attacks
Even when one just lies for the night
At one’s side or on supine body position;
At first it gives the back comfort
But when it stays unwarily in one place
Watch out for the strained effect
There would not be doubting …
One would surely carry the intensity of pain
Throughout the day, and into the night!

Pain … unbearable pain!
Accidentally put undue pressure on a muscle
Simply doing normal tasks:
Lift, run, stretch, walk …
In an instant, a tear could erupt
And damage a muscle and muscle fibers
If not some tendons around it …
As irritation of nerve endings pop
Pain explodes
Bruise from inside out
Appears and aggravates
Mind, body and soul!

Weather Offense

Blog 481:

Cold air mass blows from the west
Hot air mass from southeast pits its might against it
One hits and pushes the other
‘Til they neither could move anywhere
But ‘round ‘n’ ‘round in gridlock

“Take cover, down ground!” came the warning …

“Head down to a shelter far down below!” alerted another …

Gusty winds kept its motion over and around
Soon a funnel ... a twister forms, and lashes
In the blink of an eye, it touches down
Lifting anything, everything in its spot and path …

As if typhoon destruction on the other side of the ocean
Weren’t enough for its outrage and insult …
Weather fronts take active offense

Beyond the pacific ream ...

From the east to the west
Midwest it strikes
It slams its fury across states
Leaving property and human lives
In a different geographical spot alright ...
But just the same, and again, in shams!

Aaarrff!

Blog 480:

Bark!
Bark the lungs out!
Bark at Dad when he gets up from a seat
Bark at him loudly even when he twitches
Bark at him when he heads out for the door
Bark!  Bark with stress!
Bark at Dad when he cuddles Cinn
Bark at Mom when she walks around the room
Bark! Bark!
Bark out your heart out of jealousy!
Bark with a wimp, and sulk
As time and day fly by
Soon … right before dark …
There comes Dad’s car! 
Bark!
Dad’s walking to the door…
Bark! Bark! Bark!
This time, loudly bark! 
Bark with joy!

Crazy Craving

 Blog 479:

Chocolate, please!
Hunt for it in the pantry
Open up all cabinets
Or drag out drawers
Just where is it?
Search the icebox
Just locate that chocolate bar
Or that choco-melting sweet treat …

Chocolate-wanting attack
Goes from mild to severe
It must be gratified …
This minute!
This very moment!
Right here and now!

R.I.P.: Chip Munk

Blog 478:

Bright and early yesterday morning
Chip ran around and picked up loitered acorns on the porch
I fondly watched his tiny feet run to and fro
I tried to count his steps, but they moved so quickly
Counting them was vexing, so I gave up
And simply chose to enjoy that one rare moment with him
Tired perhaps of running about there and here
He sat on his behind and began cracking his find
Soon he voraciously munched a freshly dug nut
As if for him, there would not be another meal …

This morning in the backyard
I found him curled up among fallen leaves on the ground
He moved not, neither did he flinch
I nudged his back, but he just lay there
Cold … miserable … lifeless …
I wondered, “Was his meal yesterday scrumptious enough …
Or did it hurt badly his stomach, and it sickened him to death?”

Music in the Air

Blog 477:

As I sit by a clear-view pane of my window,
Music plays on the radio-
A dirge … a celebration …
It circles in the air
It wraps around me
And soothes my tottering nerves!

As I rest in the comfort of my bed,
Music plays on my mind-
A familiar tune of long ago
A lullaby … a patriotic march …
It circles in the air
It wraps around me
And cheers my solitary soul!
 
As I go about in my distant unrest,
Music plays at a mass funeral-
A melancholy song … a poignant recollection …
It circles in the air
It wraps around all
And mourns lives untimely lost!

• Remembering all Haiyan typhoon-stricken souls ...

TyphoonTemper

Blog 476:
 

God's good hands have no part in them
Typhoon tantrums are just that
Outbursts and projected unease
Accompanied by fits and frenzies:

… erratic, violent Winds

… mighty, unruly Waves

… raging Rains and destructive Floods

Climate changes yield irritation
Weather patterns bring shine or disaster
Typhoon’s nature is just that
It befits us to prepare for its ominous outrage!

Dead-Speak

Blog 475:

Take my pic
Tell of my calamity
Share with the village folks what has become of me ...

I am dead, but someone is looking for me
I am dead, but I was once someone’s brother, sister
I am dead, but my children, my relatives don’t know that yet
I am dead, but I belong to a grieving family

Let me be found
Let a prayer be offered for my soul
Let those who loved me remember I loved them

Burn or bury me afterwards
You could choose how to rid of my cold physical being
Just please don’t leave me yet here by myself
Just please don’t let me fade away in oblivion ...

Dead End ?

Blog 474:

By the shores of Leyte, Tacloban cities
The living and the dead lie side by side
The lifeless and the lost
The washed away, life-robbed from someplace not familiar
Another flown, and then stranded by might of gusty winds
One’s eyes are closed … body cold, the luckier one
The other’s eyes, swollen and reddish from tears, body still warm
Both show lifelessness
Waiting to be tended
By fortunate Yolanda survivors
And unharmed breathing souls from far and near …

Freely Given

Blog 473:

Unconditional giving ...

Be it time for a cause
Be it as little or huge effort
Be it words of encouragement
Be it securing comfort for the bereaved
Be it just being there where needed
Be it simply listening to someone’s woe

Unconditional giving comes from the mind
And from the bosom of the one who gave His life
So that we could live …
And pass on giving freely!

Haiyan-Yolanda, 2013

Blog 472:

Dark, overcast skies warned-
In a modest home somewhere East
A son’s voice heralded:
“Inay, Itay … matinding bagyo narito na;
Let’s find shelter somewhere higher ground!”

Winds cried and howled-
A lost child down the street laments
In tears, she calls:
“Bebeng, Kuya … nasaan kayo?"
But no one comes near where she stood

 
Unsettling unease permeated the surroundings
Children, left unintentionally to tend on their own sang panic cries  
Storm Signal 1 rang first around town
Rain trickled, and then fell in huge, non-stop drops
Storm Signal 2 was radioed
In villages tiny or large
Torrential waters from the sky poured their might
Storm signal 3 did not need to be sounded ...
Waves ravished and winds blasted rains
 
The ocean churned as the rains battered it
It rounded up again, and again, its strength
It threw its fury-like hands every which way
And before anyone could foretell its wrath
It rounded up its massive water power
Then spew out all its rage from inside out

It didn’t care whom it hurt-
It didn’t care where it went-
It didn’t care what it destroyed-
It didn't care when and why it landed-

All things standing on ground …
Those made from years of human sweat … toiling …
Anything that stood in its way, it devoured
All living creatures it met or touched …
It spun, swallowed, and regurgitated seven times
Until life was drained ... wrung out

 

In just a few minutes of deluge-like smashing … slamming …
Homes and building structures all pulverized
Electric down and demolished
Water systems shattered
The dead lie on the ground
One outrageous storm named Yolanda
Brought human death toll in thousands
Devastated livelihoods, and commerce
collapsed bridges and thoroughfares
Left Tacloban City of Leyte, Philippines in ruins!

12 Years in Captivity

Blog 471:

Lure into a devious den!
Intoxicate!
Abduct!
Deny identity …
Break one’s spirit …
Take away freedom …
And slump one’s life in shambles …
Breathe into servitude!

From one human being to another -
The powerful assumes ownership
Over one’s humanity
Its rightful gifts …

From one human being to another -
He imposes torturous acts
And little or next to nothing
Of sleep, sustenance
Or clothing on one’s back …

From one human being to another -
He forces him to labor in the scorching sun
Or under the cold, biting rain
He takes him somewhere hidden
Amidst an inattentive crowd
And abuses him emotionally, physically…

Slavery is sinful
Slavery is criminal
Slavery is obnoxious, foul, vile …
Slavery is evil incarnate!
We must oppose it
We must dissent from it
We must fight it
We must resist, dispute, and combat it!

Requisites

Blog 470:

Need or want?
Food for a hungry stomach is need
So is clothing for the winter chill
Medicine for a hurting, sick body
Requires attention and care … a need!
Need or want?
Shoes for the feet are a need
Microbes harmful to feet will make one sick
A roof over one’s head is a need
So is a warm, dry spot on which to lie at night
Need or want?
Clean water to drink is a need
Without it life would not be sustained
Peace of mind and heart lifts one’s soul … a need
And freedom from harm of any kind!

Heal

Blog 469:

Run steaming bath water
Pour into it salt from sea
Mix in rejuvenating powder
Let both mesh and melt
While you lit an aromatic candle fave
There … all set-
Step into the tub water
Soak in your tired body
Close your weary eyes
Nap if you like for a quarter of an hour
Unload the stresses of day
And let water and ambiance do the magic
Let a care-free soak heal your body and mind!

Fallen Leaves

Blog 468:

Blow them away
Sweep them up
Rake them all
Pile them up high
Or tightly bag them!
 
Just gather the leaves
Haul them away
Mulch them if you like
Return them as nourishment
Back to the ground!
 
Give trees’ fallen leaves back to Earth-
They that keep giving
Shelter, respite, food …
And be ever grateful
For gifts they share year-round!

Autumn Blues2

Blog 467:

I so love, love autumn leaves
Their colors explode like wild fire
Bursts of red and yellow warm me
Shocking orange and purple too
Best of all, I love browns crunch under my feet

I so love, love autumn leaves
Wind blows them like drizzling rain
Sun crinkles and breaks them brown
But when autumn leaves all mix down aground
I begin to detest their piled up charm

With autumn leaves, poets weave thoughts  
Artists paint them on canvas with flare
Those charged with gathering them up though
Abhor every single rake pull and push
Like or dislike it, autumn leaves’ shower reigns!

Autumn Blues1

 Blog 466:

Yellow and brown
Red and purple too
I however love fuchsia
Of all autumn leaves’ hues!
Chilly temps and wind gusts
Bring them all down
I watch beasty winds
Pluck them one by one!
Soon a litter gets on the ground
Next day the pile builds up more
In a week’s time yard is invisible
Leaves are everywhere I look!

‘God-cident’

Blog 465:

Two friends get unpleasantly surprised
At the sight of a fallen tree in their front yard
Gusty winds overnight had taken their oak tree down
Split in half as if one willfully took an axe in spite
And parted it for the world around to marvel
At a rare find of yet another budding oak from its belly
 
Two friends get baffled at the mysterious work of art
Only God’s miraculous hands could possibly have crafted
Wrapped in awe, they bow their heads and whisper thanks
At the paradoxical gift of nature and marvelous grace!

Radiate

Blog 464:

Smile a contagious smile
Let others’ psyche be infected
And burst like the exploding rays of the sun
Or the bouncing puffy-white clouds up the sky …

Smile at the gifts simple occurrences freely give:
… the breaking of a fresh new day
… the welcome of a warm embrace
… the licks and cuddling from pups
… the random acts of kindness

Smile even though inside you cry
And mourn the loss of someone dear …
Smile over a pile of never-ending tasks
And patiently take them in stride …
Smile at the thought of workday’s end
When you get welcomed back into warm embrace …
Smile and let joy come out alive
In spite of a nagging hurt …

Smile … laugh and giggle if you like
Just smile and let the world around you dance!

'Bayong' Delight

Blog 463:

Out somewhere
She heads early morn with her bayong
I don’t know where she goes
But when she comes home
To our one-room abode
Her bayong  bulges in the seams!

With delight and wide-opened eyes
I eagerly wait for things to jump one at a time …

First comes a bottle of warm milk
Next she pulls out a warm bread loaf
All wrapped neatly in her alampay
I didn’t care that the loaf was in pieces
Or dented, and poorly sliced
It comes out warm like the milk, just right-
Especially that its oven-fresh smell
Fills my nostrils and our tiny four-walled space …

With a big, proud smile, she unrolls, afterwards, a brown bag
It unfolds all sorts of meat bones
And pieces of store-rejected, cured sausage links
Almost half-filled with fleshy meat …

In awe, my heart pumps fast, my delight builds
I knew that later, she and I will have a supper treat!

Out somewhere
She heads early morn with her bayong
I don’t know where she goes
But when she comes home
To our one-room abode
Herbayong bulges in the seams!

Soul-in-Search-of-Rest

Blog 462:

Faithful some believe
Believe in a holding place
Place somewhere in between
Between a final resting spot and the Earth
Earth that once nourished life
Life spent with breathing, living souls
Souls whose physical beings got snuffed
Snuffed timely, it might have been, yet unfit
Unfit for God’s full embrace …

Faithful some believe 
Believe in full homecoming
Homecoming, after physical death, to a place
Place without sorrow or pain
Pain-free space to wander with Holy Being
Being who is immaculate as snow
Snow white-filled existence
Existence bursting in unbridled love
Love from God whose cup overruns
Overruns with powerful, forgiving grace!