Flight of Wisdom
We are beings — each one of us
a summation of different functions
but of the same realities. We are one,
yet not identical.
We were, but once, innocent children.
With budding consciousness,
our world was confined to “I’s”, “me’s”, and “mine’s”.
In due time, we became so eager
to touch and experience
the outside world, small and big things,
examined wide-eyed.
Do you still recall the traces of your
childhood friendships — your first fight,
the punches on the nose or the
pulling of hair, the first lollipop you shared
and nibbled on, the first toy
you played with together. And what about
the first fairy tale you wove together,
where the prince and the princess lived
happily ever after?
Years passed by
like a handful of sand gently slipping
through our fingers. Like chapters
leafed through, one after another,
we came and went.
New friends.
New personalities.
New lifestyles. New dreams.
Friendships were formed — delicate,
intimate, intense…
commitments.
Different faces. Different minds.
Different stories were drawn
upon the face of LIFE.
It was never easy.
We fell, sometimes
face flat, on painful experiences.
But every defeat was
outweighed by the victory.
Where there was dusk, there was dawn.
Sometime in the past,
there was the sly fox that cheated
on you, or deceived your trusting ears.
There were slippery tongues
and loose lips that spread the news
for the whole town to hear.
Do not forget the fly-by-night bandit
who stole sincere hearts
and left them broken,
or the chameleon at play that
confused his own vision more than
his disguises confused his friends’.
Have you caught sight of the Great Merlin
who, at one wave of his wand,
appeared and disappeared
out of nowhere?
And remember the dead cold mummy
who remained aloof, void of feelings,
void of care? Then, there was the Big Ego,
who considered the likes
of Mount Everest or Kilimanjaro
a mere stepping stone on his way
to a selfish dream.
Yet…
There was the musical voice
that inspired our spirits and moved
our hopes in harmonious delight.
And we would not let the hand
that held the pen escape
our memory —
the one who drove
our passion for learning
to boundless heights. Let us
remind ourselves
of the pool of minds
which reconciled the truth between
the harsh reality and the unattainable ideal,
or the romantic heart who tempered
the emotions with ruthless strength
and gentle humbleness.
Remember the quick wit of the clown
who turned floods of tears
into ripples of laughter?
And, of course, the fortified shoulder
where griefs and burdens were
either laded down
or heaped upon.
Paradoxes. Maybe.
Irreconcilable truths. Perhaps.
But one continuum —
Rejected and accepted. Trusted
and mistrusted. Believed and doubted.
Loved and unloved.
Apathy and Love. The ultimate realities.
Think back. We were all
together in this. Whether
discoveries and revelations
were made at a busy and noisy
bus stop, on board a local jeepney,
over a cold bottle of beer, on a breezy
afternoon at the beach, in the middle
of a crowded classroom, along
the narrow sidewalk on your way home,
over the kitchen table
during a midnight snack…
be it a handshake, a naughty wink, a sweet
meaningful smile, a sudden eye contact,
a pat on the back, a warm hug
or a peck on the cheek —
we all made connections.
Indeed! Friendship is complicated —
it works in mysterious ways.
Alone, it offers a wide variety of experiences
in different dimensions of life. It opens
a door to countless channels…
After all these years, have your wishes
and dreams come true? How many
of them were left to chance and
how much resulted through pushes and pulls.
Have you awakened one morning,
wondering what had happened to those
who did not keep in touch?
Even for a moment,
have you thought of those
who were caretakers of secrets —
how much sleep they lost
in the abyss of “unknowns”?
And for a few precious moments,
were you able to empathize with
those who nurtured hurt feelings?
Have they let the steam out,
forgiven others and,
more importantly, themselves?
What about those who conceived
their first love years ago? Do you
think they have completely
forgotten all about it?
At some point in time, we took turns
living different roles and, in each turn,
a bond was created and recreated,
because we knew that nobody
could be everybody.
You might have forgotten about
your adolescent wishes and dreams
enveloped, either in careless or accurate
predictions, or pure intuitions.
Nevertheless, one valuable thing
remains true… through the decades,
friendships blossomed.
Our time…we built it, gave it meaning, and gave it life.
a summation of different functions
but of the same realities. We are one,
yet not identical.
We were, but once, innocent children.
With budding consciousness,
our world was confined to “I’s”, “me’s”, and “mine’s”.
In due time, we became so eager
to touch and experience
the outside world, small and big things,
examined wide-eyed.
Do you still recall the traces of your
childhood friendships — your first fight,
the punches on the nose or the
pulling of hair, the first lollipop you shared
and nibbled on, the first toy
you played with together. And what about
the first fairy tale you wove together,
where the prince and the princess lived
happily ever after?
Years passed by
like a handful of sand gently slipping
through our fingers. Like chapters
leafed through, one after another,
we came and went.
New friends.
New personalities.
New lifestyles. New dreams.
Friendships were formed — delicate,
intimate, intense…
commitments.
Different faces. Different minds.
Different stories were drawn
upon the face of LIFE.
It was never easy.
We fell, sometimes
face flat, on painful experiences.
But every defeat was
outweighed by the victory.
Where there was dusk, there was dawn.
Sometime in the past,
there was the sly fox that cheated
on you, or deceived your trusting ears.
There were slippery tongues
and loose lips that spread the news
for the whole town to hear.
Do not forget the fly-by-night bandit
who stole sincere hearts
and left them broken,
or the chameleon at play that
confused his own vision more than
his disguises confused his friends’.
Have you caught sight of the Great Merlin
who, at one wave of his wand,
appeared and disappeared
out of nowhere?
And remember the dead cold mummy
who remained aloof, void of feelings,
void of care? Then, there was the Big Ego,
who considered the likes
of Mount Everest or Kilimanjaro
a mere stepping stone on his way
to a selfish dream.
Yet…
There was the musical voice
that inspired our spirits and moved
our hopes in harmonious delight.
And we would not let the hand
that held the pen escape
our memory —
the one who drove
our passion for learning
to boundless heights. Let us
remind ourselves
of the pool of minds
which reconciled the truth between
the harsh reality and the unattainable ideal,
or the romantic heart who tempered
the emotions with ruthless strength
and gentle humbleness.
Remember the quick wit of the clown
who turned floods of tears
into ripples of laughter?
And, of course, the fortified shoulder
where griefs and burdens were
either laded down
or heaped upon.
Paradoxes. Maybe.
Irreconcilable truths. Perhaps.
But one continuum —
Rejected and accepted. Trusted
and mistrusted. Believed and doubted.
Loved and unloved.
Apathy and Love. The ultimate realities.
Think back. We were all
together in this. Whether
discoveries and revelations
were made at a busy and noisy
bus stop, on board a local jeepney,
over a cold bottle of beer, on a breezy
afternoon at the beach, in the middle
of a crowded classroom, along
the narrow sidewalk on your way home,
over the kitchen table
during a midnight snack…
be it a handshake, a naughty wink, a sweet
meaningful smile, a sudden eye contact,
a pat on the back, a warm hug
or a peck on the cheek —
we all made connections.
Indeed! Friendship is complicated —
it works in mysterious ways.
Alone, it offers a wide variety of experiences
in different dimensions of life. It opens
a door to countless channels…
After all these years, have your wishes
and dreams come true? How many
of them were left to chance and
how much resulted through pushes and pulls.
Have you awakened one morning,
wondering what had happened to those
who did not keep in touch?
Even for a moment,
have you thought of those
who were caretakers of secrets —
how much sleep they lost
in the abyss of “unknowns”?
And for a few precious moments,
were you able to empathize with
those who nurtured hurt feelings?
Have they let the steam out,
forgiven others and,
more importantly, themselves?
What about those who conceived
their first love years ago? Do you
think they have completely
forgotten all about it?
At some point in time, we took turns
living different roles and, in each turn,
a bond was created and recreated,
because we knew that nobody
could be everybody.
You might have forgotten about
your adolescent wishes and dreams
enveloped, either in careless or accurate
predictions, or pure intuitions.
Nevertheless, one valuable thing
remains true… through the decades,
friendships blossomed.
Our time…we built it, gave it meaning, and gave it life.
Of Dreams and Nightmares
A single soul encapsulates my being
Having plunged into the deeper and darker part of me
Of claiming the sweetness and the whiteness
Into the blackness
Then out to the light
Yet, not a word of reproach nor praise
But let me be
Somehow changed yet still me
Swimming the tides of dreams
One day, I will have a place by the sea
Where the sun shines and the clouds swirl with the summer breeze
Where the rain refreshes and cleanses the air
Surfing the nightmares
Today, I am sailing through the ebb and flow
At times unable to breathe underwater
I usually come to surface just in time
I then explore the dry patch land
But hounded by wolves I seem to have attracted
Some days I desperately hide in my own darkness
Wishing that if I cannot see them then they cannot see me
To banish the fear, the uncertainty
The interloping of dreams and nightmares
From conscious into unconscious
Of the desire to settle
Comes hand in hand with the fear of permanence
Of being owned, of being confined to norms
A struggle, day in, day out
An eternal paradox
A pause
And what if with wolf or with sheep?
After all, is not a daisy better off growing in the wild?
Having plunged into the deeper and darker part of me
Of claiming the sweetness and the whiteness
Into the blackness
Then out to the light
Yet, not a word of reproach nor praise
But let me be
Somehow changed yet still me
Swimming the tides of dreams
One day, I will have a place by the sea
Where the sun shines and the clouds swirl with the summer breeze
Where the rain refreshes and cleanses the air
Surfing the nightmares
Today, I am sailing through the ebb and flow
At times unable to breathe underwater
I usually come to surface just in time
I then explore the dry patch land
But hounded by wolves I seem to have attracted
Some days I desperately hide in my own darkness
Wishing that if I cannot see them then they cannot see me
To banish the fear, the uncertainty
The interloping of dreams and nightmares
From conscious into unconscious
Of the desire to settle
Comes hand in hand with the fear of permanence
Of being owned, of being confined to norms
A struggle, day in, day out
An eternal paradox
A pause
And what if with wolf or with sheep?
After all, is not a daisy better off growing in the wild?
Poor Duke of Orleans
Tower along the Thames,Written by Carlie W. Powell, Jr.
its oldest letter
for a gentle valentine.
Nay, dear eglantine.
A love farewell,
doth dwell
like unused pastels.
Never to paint, like ours,
for the sickest love is found,
but never lost.
Getintouch