Dear Once a Student,

click to hear the writer read her composition

Spare me some of your time

I’d like to share to you my inspiration.

You see, I was brought to this unexpected destination,

as part of a system called education.

I’m not an expert in education.

My diploma is in communication

but I have always loved children,

always curious about their creation.

They have a different world, a universe of their own –

uncontaminated, untainted, unsophisticated.

But because of human nature, we – the adults,

demolished, insulted, neglected the freedom to be their own.

We call this process, EDUCATION.

This is my view, a letter to you.

Dear Once a Student,

Do you still remember the number of hours you sat still in a class?

that when you move or chat you are threatened not to pass?

Dear Teacher,

It is only through practice we can master our movements.

and just like you, we yearn the need to communicate.

To make the matter worse, we were trained

to be silent and to hear you.

Now, let me ask you,

“Were you ever curious about our view?”

Dear Once a Student,

Do you still remember the subjects we had?

Math and English in the primary years,

then they added Filipino, Science and history.

I thought it will never last.

I was right.

They added Values, MAPEH and TLE

And guess what? We memorized all the strokes, but never learned how to swim

We know honesty is the best policy,

but it is better to cheat than to displease the examiner

Dear Examiner,

We have learned all the words,

all adjectives and the verbs

even the synonyms and antonyms.

But after the exam, all to no avail.

Because our hearts yearn not for words,

but for the universe.

We have learned history, mathematics and geography

But we failed to learn the purpose of this reality.

Dear Once a Student,

Do you still remember the time when you wished to be number one?

You had friends and a lot of time

but you prefer to study alone and miss all the fun

because what is important is that number one.

Forget the other things just not that crown

Dear Teacher,

These other things are my childhood

life itself and its very root.

The adventures I should have had

The friends I should have met

The life I should have lived.

All for what? Number 1?

Competition is good but compassion is greater,

and its only on the other things we learn the latter.

So, you see,

We had values with NO people,

Excellence with NO reason

Education with NO illumination

We were put in a box of perfection and competition

Then shoved into the world that needs faith and compassion

Dear Once a Student,

Despite all these, you know when I say that there will always be one or two

educators that we considered true.

They give not exams, no lectures, none of the pressures

but only life stories – the real treasure

not lessons nor opinions

but rather, all forms of inspirations.

They give not just time but their lives.

A teacher once told me,

Life is an equation

It has balance that needs consideration

Life is a novel

Success only comes to those who are noble

Life is a circle

It has thousands of sides creating one whole

So, you see, my dear teachers

It’s not about how many reports you have made nor test papers you have checked.

We just need you to inspire us to admire life.

Now, that I am a teacher, I should always be reminded

that there is no perfection in education only inspiration.

I was never once a student but is forever a student

Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash

This Week

Dear Wednesday,

I know I have a lot to worry for Saturday, since my Tuesday wasn’t enough.

But I’ll let Thursday handle the duties for that day; and if it is still not enough,

I hope Friday will be gentle and give me an ample time to prepare.

Because my Dear Wednesday, you have filled today with love, faith, promise and laughter.

With those in my heart, I’d like to say good day!

Hope my today be an inspiration for my dreams tonight.

Dear Thursday,

My apologies, with the unfinished works of yesterday and the unending tasks for Saturday,

I troubled you with several things to do.

I hope it won’t overwhelm you for there’s no chance of hoping for Friday, for that day is fully booked too.

Therefore, Thursday, be strong!

P.S. I can’t wait for Sunday but I am afraid I need to go through Saturday.

Dear Friday,

I hope you’ll persevere.

I know that you have few hours left before Saturday but I need you to persist.

I’ll treasure every minute because I’m not ready for tomorrow yet. Not yet.

I’m not disheartened nor threatened because I have faith that you Friday will somehow find a way – to lengthen the night for this unfinished fight.

Dear Saturday,

You remained strong.

Everything that needed to be accomplished was done.

It was a good fight and it was a long night

Now, it’s Sunday 

At 2 AM

I can let the day pass

Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash

He Said, She Said

_{Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash}

She had the courage to open up

He had the courage to take her in

She said you’re confident

He said you’re beautiful

She said ‘ok’ to love

He said ‘ok’ to life

She said she needs some time

He said he needs some space

She said I want to break the silence

He said I want to break up

She said goodbye

He said forever

She had to move on

He had to let go

Dear You

Metamorphosis. I never believed the gravity of that word until I had my own process of change. I thought I knew myself. I have been faithful. I was good. I had a plan. But, I was solely focused to “I“. It was January 27, 2016, when the first day of my metamorphosis began. I attended the GDC ASIA 2016. The message of Dr. Ravi Zacharias and Dr. Samuel Chand had ignited the fire that burned the concept of ‘self‘.  Below was my journey (towards realization)

click to hear the writer read her composition

I have a confession.

I never had any love relations,

Because I kept love as my possession

And this is the reason

It all started when I met you.

So I’ll start with …

Dear You,

You who has always been with me

Have seen and known the truth in me

Yet I took it for advantage

Thinking that is what you are to me

When I learned to notice you,

I learned to like you, to depend on you.

I had my sleepless nights, thinking about you

And I imagined planning the future with you.

You were faithful and generous.

You were kind and patient.

And when I started to love life because of you

I realized that love equals you

And that you are my life.

So now let me greet you with …

Dear Love,

Love, I would like to ask you why.

Why did you break me?

Uprooted me from the garden of love and left nothing with me.

It was a beautiful life. Why end it so abruptly?

I listened to you and then I followed you and then I fell in love.

It was a perfect match. It was what I imagined and prayed intently.

So why end it suddenly?

I was confused then I felt betrayed.

I was a fool that made me furious and I got derailed.

But deep inside I was broken.

You gave me a dream only to tell me it wasn’t mine.

But Dear Love,

There is one thing you don’t know about me.

I persevere.

It may take a year.

But from then, on I will not shed a single tear.

So you become my Past.

Dear Past,

Stop haunting me.

I’ am through with you.

I’m trying something new;

And he’s someone not like you.

He has promises that become true.

But damn you!

Since he is nothing like you,

I kept coming back to you.

This time I swallowed my pride

And oh! I felt so little by your side.

I thought I’ll be mad

But I just cried and cried and cried.

For that was the truth. You are beyond great.

I made a mistake.

So let’s have another take.

We’ll start fresh and I’ll regard you as …

Dear Friend,

I’m sorry.

You have always been by my side

But I was never satisfied.

You showed me what I needed

But I mistook it as pain intended.

You tried to make a humble heart out of me

But I thought you were insulting my capacity.

But I know who you are. I know what you are.

You are the giver of love, creator of past, a friend

But above all, you are The Father, Our Father.

Dear Father,

If only I had known,

I would have bowed on my own.

If only I had listened,

I would have been ever present.

If only I had understood

I would have never been a fool.

But Dear Father,

I am grateful, for you remained to stay.

That one year, I thought I could stay away,

You kept your distance and continued to whisper on my ear and say,

“You belong to Me”

That humbled me father,

For you to accept me like nothing matter.

“You belong to Me”

That reassured me father,

That in the end it will be us together.

“You belong to Me”

Father, that fulfilled my duty

For me to decrease while You increase.

Dear Holy Father,

Please accept my confession

Now, I pray for us to start anew

A life centered only to you

So I could pass on what was given to me

The love out of Your mercy.

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Needle to a Thread

How much more can we make out from this world?

To think that it all just started from a hair and a bone.

It’s a wonder that I existed because there was a thought of you,

together with the creation that was never meant for me nor you.

I was never soft and was quite sharp with my intention;

yet, you have always been flexible, “go with the flow” as you have mentioned.

But you never required to change my ways

and just let me be as I decide for our direction.

As I look at you, and the hair is no longer true,

I see the works of time and the human mind;

and look at me, my bone is changed with steel.

But I remained the same, always creating the path to make it real.

We’ve been through a million ups and downs

but we never consider touching the ground.

We’ve made a lot as a pair, alone though nothing can be made.

Perhaps there’s a thousand more years for us,

to protect the skin of the one who made us.

Fabaceae’s Pulse

My friend, please ‘touch-me-not’ it sends chills down my spine

In time, my veins will loosen, palms open for light

Morning light breathes flair and confidence becomes mine

Only then on your delicate touch I’ll resign

Such is the spell of intimacy of my kind

A preservation against harm developed through time

This poem is written to describe myself. It is one of the many poems that allows me to accept and embody my true nature. Acquaintances may see me as an aloof and timid individual for I am not very expressive. I also prefer to be by myself. But it is all part of who I am which at first I tried to change thinking that it is a fault that has to be corrected but over time I realized that I don’t need to change. It is part of my nature just like a MIMOSA.

The First Lessons

Who would have thought that a sea glass is made out from a simple stone?

A stone thrown fatefully to the sea for a purpose unknown.

It took me more than courage to face the challenges brought by the sea.

But I don’t regret being thrown for in return I was made to be better than before.

If the tide pulls you deeper to the unknown of the sea; Let it be.

If the waves crush you down that in the process you loss a piece of you; Let it be.

If the waves never stop that it drills you even more to the bottom of the sea; Let it be.

For that tide brings you the waves that only few has seen.

Those waves carve your edges to fulfill the purpose that is promised.

And the sea, yes, the sea will hand you back to the shore where it all began,

The first lessons of the sea that carve that simple stone to a sea glass.

Before the Lock Down

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

The night is still yet the heart more than ever beats

As the mind ponders on the horrors of this film.

In the silence of the night thousands of lights beam

At first dreading, then waiting, anticipating.

None has thought numbers could bring such thrill

To display the truth – the work of fear.

Aroused by foul and atrocity

The mind wonders, “who else can be killed?”

What if the number goes beyond … will it be it?

The demonic delight is exhilarating

Grieve, lament, bemoan, weep and better yet feel guilt

For the world is still yet to feel its penalty.

Heart went still when the horror sinks in

This isn’t real for it’s just on the screen

But the moaning slithers, fear creeps in

Lights off, lungs restrain, holding a sneeze.

The Majestic Tree

Photo by David Bartus from Pexels

Let me tell you of the tree that once stood with great majesty.

Its branches reaching far and wide, stretching its leaves to every side

curious of the air that surrounds its every part.

The roots are as huge as a man’s thigh, grounded to the soil like a bundle of yarn

thirsty of the nutrients saved by the years before its time

The stem stood patiently for each season

waiting for the brush of the wind during equinoxes

celebrating the showers of rain at winter solstice

and anticipating the summer of June that brings the awaited heat

Indeed, it was an exceptional tree that everyone loved so dearly

A learned man saw the tree’s majesty

then the man pledge to give aid in all its ability

not that the tree needs any form of assisting

it is simply because it’s the man’s way of nurturing

The man started with a sprinkler of Adam’s ale

The tree was then surrounded with mist covered like a veil

Pleased, the man envisioned the tree much grander that it already is

So, the man showered the tree with powdered cotyledon

And let it thrive beyond its age and time

Proud, the man built a platform for the world to see

the beauty that was created out of the majestic tree

lights at every side

concrete floor at every ground

boards to put up the sign

bells to chime the loudest sound

The world saw the tree, but it was nothing but the ordinary

branches no longer reaching,

roots no longer seeking

and stem no longer waiting

What happened to my tree? Asked the learned man

the tree replied,

“It is because I am now yours and you treated me like a majesty

and not because I am my own and was a tree”

Change

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Change is a close friend unintended.

He knocks at times you least expected,

and disrupts the life you’ve protected.

He never visits well presented.

He emits the foulest scent of fear,

resonates the loudest scream of pain

even takes away the gems that are dear.

but change is a friend that will remain

He stays the longest in your lifetime

to humble you down from time to time.

He is patient in giving you time

till the day you’ll realize your crime,

that you’re selfish and unforgiving

specially on things that’s of this world.

He does the tedious task of reminding

that you’re greater than to love the world

But time will come when you’ll seek for change

that time has come cause your day has aged.

You’ll welcome him as you’ll turn a page, of an exciting story of change