Song of Years

I will tell you the story of Jonathan Brown
The wealthiest man in Vanastorbiltown.
He had lands, he had houses, and factories and stocks,
Good gilt-edged investments, as solid as rocks.
"Every thing that I have," he so frequently said,
"Shall belong to the Lord just as soon as I'm dead."

So he made out his will, with particular care,
A few hundred here, a few thousand there.

For the little home church in the village close by
He planned a new building with spire so high,
And chimes to be heard from miles upon miles,
And deep crimson carpet all down its long aisles.
For his pastor, a new home, with rooms large and nice;
For the village library, a generous slice.
And then he remembered a college,
Where young folks were taught the essentials of knowledge.
The promising son of his very best friend
To prepare for the ministry he planned to send.
He'd pay for his board and his room and tuition,
Expecting the lad to fulfill a great mission.

One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through.

Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden? You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened.

You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that. But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister. Everyone is finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.

Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

Funny when you don't heed to directions and in the end, you end up lost instead. Tatay told me the exact address but didn't pay attention anymore when I heard that it was just along National High School. But which national high school? Sta. Maria or Sta. Lucia? He wasn't replying so I decided to go for Sta. Lucia. I'm confident it was there anyway. However, when I got there, the streets were  peaceful and It didn't look like someone's having a wake. Finally, I decided to ask a resident:

Lea: Maayong gabie. Nong, mangutana unta ko. Asa dapit ila Soriano?
Manong: Didto ra dapit sa Elementary. Ngano man diay unta day?
Lea: Aw...mag funeral service man gud unta mi.
Manong: (shocked) Ha? namatay si Soriano? Pila na ka adlaw?
Lea: Wla ra ba ko kabalo manong kay wala ko kaila ana niya...
Manong: Namatay na si Soriano? Kita pa man ko adto niya...kanus-a lang kaha siya namatay day?
Lea: (smile is fading and confidence is dwindling now) Wala ra ba jud ko kabalo nong...Pro didto ra man sa elementary dapit nu? sulay lang nko adto didto. Salamat kaayo...

6am. The alarm rang. I opened my eyes and saw the shocked expression on May's face. A loud cry of "Daoy! Nasakpan nuon ko!". I laughed so hard. She grabbed the cake from the table, lit the candle and sang the Happy Birthday tune. I blew the candle and hugged her tight. She asked to me make a wish and I laughingly and loudly said: "Maka uyab!". She sat beside me on the bed laughing but grumbling at the same time. That darn clock was such a spoiler. Why did it turn on just when she was about to surprise me?

May then gave me my birthday present - a cellphone accessory with my name on it. Explained that there were no longer any letter E available so she replaced the E with a star. Used the present immediately. Further inquiry revealed that she had also bought similar trinkets for the rest of the barkada. 

Just last month, I didn't have a single clue what I would like to do this year now that I have a lot of free times. But all that has changed somehow. Still so very early in the year yet the wind is blowing differently already and as the days pass, I am more drawn to this new idea: to study law.

This began as an afterthought when I shared with my siblings the changes in my schedule. When asked what I would do with the time I have, I casually said that I would like to continue studying. Odd it may seem to some, but I missed school. I had been neglecting my masters ever since I was assigned at Ipil. But try hard as I might, there was no burning desire to continue it yet although I only need about three more semesters to be able to finish it. And even if I do finish my masters in English, it wouldn't help me much for it isn't related to the present job that I have. So I thought of law and was thrilled. And that spark that started feebly is now becoming a fire.

Since it's a new year, thought I might post the very first poem I wrote when I was still a sophomore in high school. And brave as I might seem to be, I am compelled to add that I do this with downcast eyes and a blush on my cheeks because I am posting it the way I wrote it back then. Though I am very much tempted to edit all the wrong tenses, still I am prevented by my 'better nature' to not do anything and just leave things the way they are. After all, it is nice to laugh at yourself once in a while.