ABC STARS Inspires

Ninoy Aquino Yellow flowers by the highway,          Yellow ribbons all in view At Luneta's every byway;          How we all remember you! Yellow of the sunbeams bursting          On our red and white and blue; Symbol of our people thirsting          For the freedoms that we knew! Never fearing, ever fighting          Though we were a lonely few! By your martyrdom uniting          Native, Moslem, Christian, Jew! An aroused, emboldened nation,          Vigilant and ever true, Seeking just reconciliation          Is our legacy from you! Ah, the million madding faces          Demanding justice overdue! Millions more in other places---          Ilocandia to Sulu! Though the tyrant keeps ...

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image courtesy of ponsulak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net There is a story from somewhere in time That tells us why, of all the newly born, Babies communicate by pantomime For many a moon beyond their natal morn -- Their mem'ries are so full of God, that's why They mustn't speak or else they might reveal Some heaven's secrets no angel may deny Of ecstasy too much for us to feel! You were so fresh from God, a fortnight's flight From Him. Did she play with you awhile, When you met her flying home that night? And is she with us now, as you smile?        Our newest, dearest grandchild, Baby Bernice,        Could you share that secret? Share that Peace? 28 July 95

Image courtesy of artur84 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image courtesy of 9comeback at FreeDigitalPhotos.net When something is too beautiful!          Why is it, it makes us weep? Is it our heart recalling, yearning         For a moment hidden deep In our memory --- when we         Were newly fashioned in His hand And had a glimpse of absolute Beauty         Before our exile on this land? 28 July 95

Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image courtesy of smarnad at FreeDigitalPhotos.net A CROSS is being made for me; The whole world over it is known That he who bears the Primacy Of Peter must carry it alone. My own Commission cannot be A Simon of Cyrene. It's shown By their split theology This crushing weight is all my own. "But cannot 'collegiality' Make this chalice pass away?" Image courtesy of artur84 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net No, a seeming majority Echoes the world's communique; "We have no king but science. We Have no god but reason! Give Us this forbidden fruit. Free Us from the law that we may live!" "As man sees fit? What treachery!" Yes, the same old Serpent weaves The same old lies on the same old tree--- Temptation of the Modern Eves. "A worried world is at a loss, You abdicate? What shall we do?" Image courtesy of ...

Image courtesy of Simon Howden at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net The wailing wind now sings your lullaby And only swallows keep your company For not a human voice or forlorn sigh Punctuates the stillness that pervades this sea Of wee white crosses where at last you lie. No longer will your footsteps echo along The halls and mountain bivouacs we shared. No longer will your roguish laughter, your song Of rustic loves and tales of dangers dared Enthrall and entertain our common throng. Yet you will always be, to us who know The humanness that made you what you were A man, at once a saint and sinner too, A simple soldier, lowly commoner, The friend, my friend who unto death was true! Feb., 1960

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net "I've been deeply moved!" "Me too", he said While looking at the mountain framed in red, The red of sunset, "My, it's quite a view! And see the rainbow over there?" I knew He didn't really know it hadn't been Exactly what I meant. "I haven't seen It lovelier than today, after that rain." He added. And I doubted, should I explain? It was not Isarog I thought of, I Was thinking of that dome against the sky. I know that what we saw from where we stood Was but this sunset scene. Perhaps a mood --- A moment out of time, when time must pause Between a longing and a sense of loss--- Was what had made us see quite differently. To him, the grandeur of the scene; to me, The meaning hidden in that dome that rose Above the town. That He could be so close! To think that I would look beyond and miss The...

Image courtesy of kongsky at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Ah fondest, fairest face in all the world! Ah wanted one! the one alone to whom, For whom, because of whom these lines unfurled! Ah lovely lily! more and more in bloom! I used to dream that you shall be my bride! And often dreamt of taking you away From all the cares that kept you occupied At school and convent all throughout the day. Flying to a corner all our own, A hut or hovel, so long's you're by my side. Ending all the loneliness I've known, Togetherness, at least by eventide.              Ah ecstasy! These dreams are now my life!              Ah bliss! with you, my valentine, my wife! 14feb66;95

Where's my Roberto                        My brown-eyed "Bobbito" My round-eyed, bambino My six-month-old boy?       He's strapped to his high-chair       The stout little dear       Who let not a cry out       Nor whimpered nor squirmed       While Mommy kept working       The chores of the day. He's smiling his heart out And thrusting and kicking And cooing and shrieking His shouts of delight       He's such a cute sight       My brown-eyed Roberto       My round-eyed "Bobbito"       My Bobby, my boy! 5feb64

Image courtesy of Keattikorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Camp Ibalon Stockade 17 July 1981 In a little pot, a lovely pink rose blooms (A strange sight inside a detention cell ---My own--- among these varied prison rooms.) Its silent beauty tells me---all is well. It was a rosebud when you came and brought it. (I hardly noticed; I had you! Then dreamt of you!) Awaking alone, so eagerly I sought it And kissing its scented petals, I kissed you anew! And sensed the light in your eyes, your face; your lips Far rosier than the love-blush you wore. Your softness, the trimness of your breasts, your hips Despite the fourteen fruits of our love you bore!          How I love you only! You alone I desire!                    How I want you, my darling, with my all afire!

Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Ah would that I could call you still my friend! You made of tears---invigorating dew; Of laughter, hair-triggered wanton bursts of end- Less joy; and any place, a rendezvous Complete. You shared the gamut of my heart, My mind, my soul. With faith you ministered The wounds of strife that would have torn me apart And with unspoken, trusted teamwork spurred Me ever onward.                                      No, we haven't (can Not even) parted ways. And yes, these ties Of oneness grow far stronger, closer than Before; and no, your friendship knows no price.                  We were and are the best of friends for life                 But I must call you more than friend, my wife! The Rainbow, Feb., 1966