She dreamt of dancing to the music of time
She learned the routine
The clock stopped ticking
She perfected her arabesque, her pirouette
She took her final bow and cried
The curtain never opened
She stepped down from the stage
But gathered the courage to return
She braved to dance again
The clock ticked
The curtain opened
She woke up
(Artworks by Ferdinand Cacnio)
Standing here, by the lavenders’ nest
Breathing in beauty, sighing admiration
Seeing the sun cresting in the fresh,
Bluish sky — Ah, Inspiration! Inspiration,
You fail never to enfold me every morn!
the wintry sigh of the morning
clouds, its eager embrace
with the warmth of the rising
sun, a sight to behold, great
to savvy, seize, this scenery
of beauty and austerity
loudly whispering, “It is
another day, by God’s grace,
for us to live worthily.”
This earth’s pilgrims, wayfarers
Aye, chasing time, here and there
Seizing every opportunity,
Showing they’re worthy dwellers
Of that regal, eternal City.
He was the East she has longed to hold
She was the West he has never known
The tik’s and tok’s the clock has cried
It was Time who made their tearful divide!
His eyes, bleary and tired
He closed them once to find
For a while some peace
Away from hustles and hurries
He opened them, only to see,
“Oh, I have missed
My most awaited trip!”
He cried, and did he mourn hard!
But the city wind whispered,
“Boy, wait you must,
And worry you must not.
It may be a trip not meant
For you to grasp and take.”
His eyes, once bleary and tried
He kept them open, he realized
“I have learned, faith we must;
Things happen accordingly
To those who believe and trust.”
She waits
She looks down
Oh, it sure is lovely,
The scene!
The brightness of beauty,
The yellow and green!
She waits
And at times,
The cold wind visits
And at times, hunts.
It sure is arduous
To fight the cold!
It sure is arduous
To fight the beauty
Of temporal bliss!
But while she is here
She will keep her faith:
The glory of things
Yet to be seen
Is beyond the sufferings
Of the battle she is in.
She knows
She learned
That glory is
Worth the wait.
Mt. Arayat, you have slumbered
Your days from Holocene, numbered
But your Grandeur,
Oh that God-given majestic stance
Your Grandeur,
In its own, majestic way
Makes the weary unencumbered!
Focus on the vast sky,
Up in the highest zenith,
He is there,
The best inspiration
Us, sojourners, could have.
Look up with trust
Faithfully fight
The distraction, bafflement
Of roads, bumpy
And wires, entangled-
It is only for a while,
It is only for a while.
The peace we will have
Up in the highest zenith
With Him there-
We know, it will be endless
We believe, it will be endless.
Footnotes & Fillings 