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13.
For Stronger Souls and Soles
here
for you is something from me,
a
gift to pass between our souls;
it’s
one attempt to weave poetry
about
our soles and souls,
as
we now walk the Path of Life
to
learn each lesson, pass each test,
one
who has really gotten the Light
can
graduate ahead of the rest.
path
has many a rock and thorn
that
hurt and wound the feet,
leaving
the softest of soles torn
to
heal, harden, be forged in heat.
Soles
of feet do grow to be tough,
getting
strength a weak one covets,
as
they romance the paths so rough
and
not the comfort of soft carpets.
on
that path are many a pebble,
that
annoy us as irritating prickles;
but
little things need not cause trouble
had
we only learned to feel them
as
tickles.
souls
that still have so much to discover
can
understandably be quite irritable;
grains,
pebbles, they’d try to shun forever,
realizing
later they’d never be able.
Light
of Wisdom shining in our souls
on
such attitudes seeks an amendment—
little
things that irritate our soles
can
just be objects of amusement.
let
us understand, even appreciate others,
be
cheerful with them despite their defects;
they
are, after all, fellow travelers,
both
good and bad human nature reflects.
let
us all be happy and cheerful
even
as irritants tickle our soles,
as
good-natured as we are peaceful
really,
deeply, within our souls.
i
hope you won’t find irritating and wrong
this
point on soles and souls i’ve raised—
for
one need not be deaf, just strong,
to
"go placidly amid the noise and haste."
September 1996
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14.
Words of Light
Fierce
fears, woeful tears upon your plight,
Depression,
despair, in the long dark night,
Banish
them all and forever send to flight:
Shine
upon them the Words of Light.
Seek
for your Mind the Words’ loving might,
If
upon seeing them you feel instant delight,
Their
Spirit has always been glowing bright
Deep
in you heart, those Words of Light.
Breatheon,then,
in peace, with nary a fright,
As
you focus on them your innermost sight!
Conquer
all your fears, set things a-right,
Cherish
and share all Words of Light!
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15.
Will Someone Still Come?
Would
there be someone
who’d
come to my life?
Would
there be one who’d love me
very
much?
Would
there be one who’d welcome me
always
With
loving joy, and a hug
that’s
just for me?
I
could fall in love again, why not?
Meet
one or another,
whom
I’d enthrone in my heart,
But
there might not be anyone
who’d
even come close
To
giving me love as intense as that
of
my first queen!
My
heart, now in pain,
tends
to retreat
to timidity,
Afraid
to fall in love again
and fail, be
frustrated.
So
I turn to seeking more
and
more friends
Who’d
help me lighten somehow
my
loneliness.
Guest
Illustration by Herman Caniete, Sanib-Sining
Freely translated from May Darating Pa Kaya?, lyrics in Filipino written by the same author as his original song composition
for the first death anniversary of Cita Soriente-Reyes in June 1995.
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16.
Let Go the Passersby
with
tears wiped out to hasten drying,
and
with the quivers and sighs
all
straightened out…
you
heard your own voice saying
she
would really be
one
tough act to follow;
your
mind seems to blank out
all
those happy memories,
for
you can enjoy them
no
longer; attachment hurts
and
you are not strong enough
for
really, deeply, letting go.
but
life has to go on,
she
had earlier said with conviction.
and
you have to resume the walk
all
by your lonesome, this time,
while
the emptiness hurts bitterly
and
fear, even panic, sets in.
you
could’ve better prepared yourself
for
this, but were utterly unable to…
then
you meet them, the passersby—
some
nod in greeting, some smile,
some
even reach out to you, tap you
on
the shoulder, peck you on a cheek,
or
give you a warm friendly hug.
ahh,
the passersby…
you’ve
learned to love them dearly!
some
too much, too soon, too sweetly!
but
they would mostly go on,
walk
on along,
leaving
you with just snapshots
in
heart, mind,
of
their smiles, their nods, their hugs,
as
they walk on… away as they want to.
life
goes on for them, too, for they,
after
all, were just passing by…
and
they owe you none!
you
are also just a passerby
in
their own sweet lives,
we
all are in one another’s;
and
perhaps it all just depends
on
how long one would linger
in
many an encounter, whether
to
be a simple passer,
a
fellow traveller,
a
brother, a sister,
friend,
team-player
or
partner.
to
avoid piling hurt over hurt
you
must learn to let go
of
those passersby
that
you meet
on
the road
of
life
moving
on…
and
then
move
on.
May 1996
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17.
Change for Thee
I
may
or may not have a gift
To
place beneath the Tree,
But
you may appreciate the most
This
gift: a Better Me.
You
have been patient with my faults
As
only you could be,
So,
hard though it may be for me,
I’ll
strive to change for thee
November
9, 2003
Guest
Illustration by Pinoy Reyes
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18.
Certainly Uncertain
|
when
am i certain?
when
am i not?
‘tis
for me a matter
of
life and death.
i
think, maybe, i’m never
really
certain on anything,
save,
perhaps, my own truth
and
not on anyone else’s
because
truth is elusive,
and
things
do
change.
|
 |
January
14, 2002
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19.
Water-Drop Planet
Water
is the juice of the world,
All
its flowings are siblings,
Water
is the chainlink of life,
It
threads together the roots
and
branches.
Without
water,
no
thirst can be quenched.
Without
water,
this
world would be so dry
…it
could not sustain life.
Drops
are marker stamps of water
Kisses
from mist and clouds,
The
spray-sprinkle of love.
Waterflows
of silent streams
Connect
to the huge sea waves
Throughout
the world
Freely translated from Ang
Tubig, lyrics in Filipino written by the same author for Enya’s
piano piece, Watermark, 1995
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20.
Baptism in Banahaw
Water
of Life,
Now
swirling ‘round my body
In
this mystical mountain called Banahaw
Imbues
me with renewed power,
Determination
and confidence to seek out
From
the innermost recesses of my heart
Enough
reasons for self-esteem,
Peace
of mind and profound happiness,
The
better for me to live and share
Life,
Light and Love, and the Power
That
comes from and after these three
And
lasts.
A
healthy Body-Mind,
Receiving the Spirit of Light
in Wisdom,
To share with my brethren in
the Family
Of Humans and of children of
Nature,
Overflowing with love that
seeks no reward
Nor
even recognition…
From
this mighty river I emerge
a
New Man.
December 1995
(painting by Ernesto Sta Cruz,
Sanib-Sining)
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21.
Loving Eyes
Room
was dimmed
But
beauty shone
Through
loving eyes
I
had hardly known…
I
stared at her
As
she did at her mother
And
beheld the weight
Of
deep sorrow borne.
I
wish to always see someday
Such
loving eyes staring at me
But
the sorrow that I in her then saw
I
wish never ever again to see.
1995
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22.
Proud Mom
mother
bird
teaches
her young
how
to fly
and
watches proudly
as
they spread their wings
and
fly out
to
live
their
own lives.
1980
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23.
Struggle for Real Peace
We
want no piece-of-paper peace,
We
want the real thing!
Aggressors
may propose peace
With
a lot of tongue work,
As
tyrants may seriously seek
To
impose "peace" by decree,
But
how can we possibly live
In
real peace and tranquility,
When
we are kept hungry,
And
our hands, even our tongues
Are
bound in heavy chains?
Brothers
and sisters, join the cause!
Struggle
for real peace!
1973
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24.
Dancing Riddle
 |
i
was born
of
a
diminutive
reed
to
dance
atop
a
shrinking
pole.
dare
you
guess
what
I am
dare
you
guess
what’s
my
my
role?
May 1970
|
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25.
Why Ask Why?
Why
ask why
Your
heart wants to cry?
Rainclouds
are too heavy
To
keep up there in the sky.
And
analyzing, asking "why?"
Might
tempt you to decide
All
that water must stay
Up
there in the clouds
Even
if it shrouds
The
bright beauty on high.
If
your special goodbye
Needs
a sob, not just a sigh,
Let
not the mind ask why
Until
after you really have
Fully
had and poured out
Your
good, good cry…
Enjoy
the rain, release the pain,
All
of it you must drain.
Let
the Soul have her bath;
and
allow not the brain
to
even think to restrain,
to
stop, to constrain,
that
good, good cry…
And
while you’re at it,
Weep
out all those other
Little
cries that you have kept
Imprisoned
in your heart
When
you thought it good
To
keep your eyes dry.
Why
rub your pretty eyes
As
they gush out rivers?
Tears
that have fallen
Have
never made swollen
Any
pair of eyes most sullen;
It’s
really the rubbing
That
causes the swelling,
Not
at all your good, good cry…
After
all that rain falling
Has
completely washed the eyes
You’ll
see clear bright skies…
That
will be the time for "why?"s!
When,
relieved of heavy load,
Your
heart and soul can rise
To
happily hug as fond mem’ries
Even
the tearful goodbyes
Along
with all the smiles
And
all the earlier "Hi!"s.
September 1996
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26.
Steeled by Pain
our
deepest of wounds
really
take time to heal,
but
they can make skin
so
tough just like steel.
ahh,
that painful season
that
you had to endure,
has
undoubtedly made you
much
stronger, more pure.
your
tears have now dried,
dark
clouds moved away;
rejoice!
your inner beauty
shines
through like the day!
written
by ding reyes in October 1999
and
dedicated to a dearly beloved friend]
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27.
Mirror
i’d
consider myself
a
little more meaningful
if
i could hold myself
up
before your eyes
as
a convincing mirror
to
the beauty and strength
of
your person—
to
your potentialities
and
accumulated wealth
of
diverse experiences
and
to the bigger freedom
you
still can enjoy and use
to
seek, through crossroads,
the
lifepath
that
would make you
most
profoundly happy—
self-actualizing,
soul-growing
and
self-assured.
believe
me as mirror to you,
inner
beauty shining through
for
i am not stupid or blind;
believe
that i see
your
foul moods, too.
trust
this mirror—
showing
no illusions,
only
the many reasons
for
my gratitude
and
full admiration.
Napindan,Taguig
August 7, 1998
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28.
Beyond All Prisons
a
skull contains my brain,
and
ribs have my heart,
well
encased within,
but
these barriers
can
not restrain
my
thoughts,
my
feelings,
my
will…
from
going far
beyond
my skin!
Fort Bonifacio, Makati 1976
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29.
My First Farewell
I.
To
each with life, whether human,
animal
or plant, death of body
is
an unalterable certainty
Part
of Life’s very mystery,
as
God had planned, is that
to
its fated end it flows inexorably.
For
almost all, however, the time
of
death’s coming is something one
cannot
predict and foresee
Jose
Rizal, one of the greatest
of
the heroes of our beloved
Motherland,
the Philippines,
Was
afforded the distinct honor
and
opportunity — the colonial
military
court had set the date
Even
the hour of his execution
by
musketry to ensure
that
he would forever be stilled
So,
across the hours of that night,
on
death’s eve, he let flow
through
his pen a loving poem,
It
was a fond farewell, that his own heart
heaved
love so great, in no less
than
a valedictory.
Such
opportunity has to all others
been
denied, denied to all
whose
lives were gone in a flash
All
the others who had cared
for
our Motherland so, spoke such
love
not by words but their lives!
II.
Even
an inkling have I not when, really,
shall
it be that I would finally
breathe
my last.
As
infant I had lain near-dead,
with
a ready coffin; Sobbing had
already
started by my next of kin
But
the mysterious ailments that had me
in
their grip suddenly disappeared
and
I got instantly healed.
From
that time more than five decades
have
rushed by, Thank God,
a
bonus life for me was bequeathed!
Despite
all the moments of peril
to
this precious life that I have
knowingly
or unknowingly faced.
My
time has still not come, up to these
very
moments when I am
weaving
words to form this poem.
Still
unsure am I, if really I can get
this
piece finished, If the next sunrise
would
find me still breathing.
In
just these past few days quite a number
of
my friends had gone to their rest
or
were brought to the brink.
Should
I sigh out my farewell
to
my Beloved Nation, after being
overtaken
by the stealth of my end?
I
seek now to imitate Rizal, about the time
of
the 110th anniversary of
his
Ultimo Adios; this is my first!
III.
As
has been usual before fond farewells
are
said I seek to declare
some
advanced requests:
Accord
value and attention not to my
mortal
remains that are like clothing
already
put aside by Life.
Focus
not on my hole-studded shoes
with
worn-out soles, ponder, instead,
the
footprints being left behind
For
these are markings made not merely
by
my feet but by my real self
as
no less than spirit!
Rather
than spend time to think
of
that pair of shoes that has been
taken
off and is wasting away
Ponder
well the story and statement
of
my footprints; know well the paths
they
had chosen to tread.
I
did make profuse attempts
to
explain well about the spirit
and
content of all these efforts,
But
many of them, even from among
the
ranks of my workmates
have
yet to firmly decide
To
really patiently listen to my statements,
to
read and comprehend well
my
explanations.
After
I depart, may they remember to
review
them and even as these are long,
to
comprehend them this time.
IV.
In
this same farewell, to my beloved
siblings,
fellow-offspring of
Inang
Bayan, I seek to share
These
grains of light that I have gathered
from
my own experiences
and
from those of my workmates.
Most
important among these is this
two-fold
challenge and call
that
I raise before all the people
Of
this nation, the Philippines,
and
of the whole world — bloom as
humans
and behave as fellow-humans!
Accord
this a real fulfillment
by
day-to-day living of each one of us
as
created in the image and likeness
Of
the Creator – with innermost spirit
glowing
in goodness flowing
from
limitless unconditional love
And
boundless almighty power
that
fully deserves to be reflected in an
invincible
sense of confidence.
Let
Rizal be our model in self-development
and
actualization as human beings
fully
worthy of this exalted term.
And
let Bonifacio shine as the epitome
of
fully living the spirit of oneness
among
fellow-humans or kapwà
Let
us love our fellow-humans, knowing
well
the lesson from our sage Jacinto:
The
humanity of all is only one!
V.
Our
Motherland is now prostrate,
victim
of battering
at
the hands of greedy exploiters
Who
despise our capabilities,
using
as justification widespread traits
that
we have only acquired
From
enslavement for less than the past
half-millennium,
thus completely
ignoring,
turning a blind eye,
Denying
the innate honor and nobility
of
our race, our honesty,
love
for work and levels of skill,
That
had lasted across many thousands
of
years; sunk into dependence,
we
have been exploited
Many
of us who love those of our brothers
and
sisters who are now mired
in
deep impoverishment
Have
been misguided about the way
to
show concern and to extend
assistance
to the poorest among us,
And
unwittingly foment among the broad
populace
a disempowering
culture
of dependency.
May
we all be able
to
teach others how to fish
instead
of daily doling out fish
Bring
into play a renewed bayanihan,
our
collective forward movement
through
the tangkilikán way
VI.
Whoever
is helped has the responsibility
to
develop their own knowledge
and
exert their own efforts,For whoever rises absolutely dependent
on
others cannot really stand up
on
his own two feet;
He
is but lifted like a soft blanket raised.
if
the hold be slackened
it
slumps back down!
Building
such knowledge and capabilities
of
people has been attempted
by
many organizations,
Including
those that I have spent time
to
initiate in formation, consolidation
and
expansion,
But
apparently I have been unable to
explain
fully well this framework
even
if only to my workmates,
So
while these groups
have
accomplished much, many people
have
remained virtually unaided
In
discovering their wisdom and various
capabilities
based on knowledge
from
their own experiences.
What
our beloved Motherland,
the
Philippines, needs
is
the real attainment of synergy
Among
Filipinos who have deep-seated
initiative,
confidence, and perseverance
for
the upliftment of all
VII.
For
as long as my lungs continue
to
breathe in the remaining years
that
I shall remain alive,
I
shall help in carrying forward the torch
of
such efforts for the deliverance
of
our people,
I
shall continue to resist the temptations
of
exhaustion and defeat all those threats
of
ultimate failure,
And
go on linking up those who should
be
teaming up, reconciling those
who
are in senseless conflict,
Helping
strengthen further the cooperation
among
us who have started to practice
"bayanihan"
synergy,
So
confident am I that with my passing,
the
great torch of the effort
to
attain oneness shall be carried on,
Ever
forward, by many who shall join us
and
remain with our Pamayanang
Sanib-lakás
ng Pilipinas.
My
love for our people, for our nation,
shall
continue being lived along the path
that
I have chosen—
To
help our people and our communities
fully
realize: we are, precisely, our
Inang
Bayang Magiliw
 |
No
other would love and care more
for
the Philippines if not we, ourself,
if
not our synergized self!
The
final call in my First Farewell is this:
Synergize
and rise up on our feet,
Beloved
Philippines!!
May
my footprints be reexamined
to
yield some lessons. Let us live long,
and
live well for our Motherland,
Live
well until we finally breathe our last!
|
Makati,
Philippines, December 29, 2006
(117th
anniversary of Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios)
translated
into English on April 26, 2007
U.P. System’s Rizal Martyrdom
Centennial reenactment of Rizal's execution,
held in Intramuros, Manila, on
December 19,
1996.
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30.
Period
and
to lovingly commit
web
only with prudence against insensitive intervention and wasteful
consumption and only with due reverence for all those plants and animals
whose precious lives are sacrificed so their once-living cells may be
ingested to sustain the living cells of those who consume them;
uploading
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