Beyond Journeys!

Sometimes I stayed late waiting for beer bottles to be emptied and the patron’s mess scattered, they remain my constant company. But do I mind being alone?

Not at all. I realize that I have a spirit strong and enduring, a better companion when everyone else can’t take the extra mile with you.

There are times when I have to close it by myself, putting away the tables, pushing and tugging at things, clipping them in. But do I care doing it single handed?

Not the least bit. I just thought that there are adversities in life greater than simply tidying things around. At least with this one I can still get by.

When almost everyone quits and we ached brushing each others shoulders, it is tempting to harbor strife and talk of bad feelings and disappointments. But did I take any?

Never. I know that it will cost me more than what I can afford to pay. I’d be more broke than the street bum without friends around.

When the storm hits town and almost blow our dreams and promises away, how I just wanted to keep myself warm and mind things when the squall has restrained. But did I give in to my desire of comfort?

I could not. I had to be stronger than the wind and unrelenting as the rain to save what may be of little value to many but hard-earned interests of a few.

When all was done and over, we parted ways with no profits to share. But was it all loss?

Not at all. I’ve realized that my rewards turn out to be more valuable than what I was expecting – the fine treasures of living life purposely.

~Fiesta Park, Tacloban City / July 22, 2008 / 8:35pm

We see things through a blindfold.

We haphazardly point fingers without understanding,

seeking beyond what is visible and obvious, we often fail.

Yes, we hide behind the comfort of being sightless,

taking the pleasure to impugn all others but ourselves.

I have yet to see a budding plant cursing the seed from where it grows,

or, a rotten fruit with a thriving life inside enrage for being nursed by the earth.

But for us, it is always easy to blame the hurting sore without seeing a mending soul.

I have still to hear the mad mumble of a contented worm for enjoying the sweet yield of the season,

or, the sturdy tree whose become a refuge but incriminates himself for growing into freedom.

But with us, it proves undemanding to take no responsibility at what we do, much more at what we have become.

We see things through a blindfold, yes,

but we can choose to strip it off from clouding our vision yet again.

Still, I have to witness your audacity to step into the open, freeing yourself from such folly.

Life is better lived with prudence.

~The Office / July 21, 2009 / 11:10am

“Everything that happens in Boracay stays in Boracay”, that’s what you told me the eve I left the island.

I would not have believed it until I’m back home feeling uneasy and hurting for holding on to memories we had back then. It persistently hunts me like the waves that whip up the timid shore.

Smiles always deceive my heart. It did not take me seconds to realize that like the pied piper I was drawn to you on that cold rainy night. I had to know you and perhaps make those lips mine before the night ends.

Awkward I may have been but I did it. We trekked the beach with only your umbrella sheltering us from the rain. And funny how it made us closer than what we intend to. Crazy thoughts and stupid emotions run wildly within.

You never said anything when I slipped my arms around your waist perhaps you understand that I did that to keep half of our bodies from getting soaked. I am thankful for allowing me to.

Time passed us by so quickly and before we knew it we had to say goodbye. We both desired to stay for few more minutes and strained to ask how long will we be away. But we remain content when not even a hushed answer was heard. Still we did enjoy each others warmth under the comfort of your umbrella and I could not have been more than thankful for it.

Now that we are back to where we are, I realize why it’s forbidden to hold on to pleasing memories or remember the crazy tactics we had in the dark or reminisce the kiss which you never refrain from giving because it would have been more difficult to house them all in the recesses of my heart.

An attempt to recall paradise sweet only breaks my heart into a thousand pieces. It would merely kill any inch of possibilities of seeing you again and wipe what little hope was left of us.

After all, the wisdom to leave them where they happen made it easier for us to move on. It was much better to allow chance to bring us together at another place and time.

~Paradise/ April 28, 2008 / 11:40pm

The sun looms at the horizon
awaiting its final descent into oblivion,

painting the dim lit skies shades of amber, crimson and tangerine splashed across the heavens

– a breathtaking sight to behold!

And everything – yes, everything is enthralled by its magnificence.

The waves stood still in expectation, the palm whispered its adoration,

the shores unkempt yet gloriously glistened with the tawny brilliance of the
setting sun.

Much as I wanted to stay, the place could not hold me forever in its embrace

else, the splendor will loose its sting and bliss invites boredom

Its white beaches and emerald waters, the wave-crafted caves and coral-covered deep

will all be memories of well-spent days in paradise

Smiles and after dark glimmer, rouses and discreet conversations

hushed with the bashing noise of the breakers

Affections as well, will have to be left undiscerned, abandoned as light begone with the night.

As the sun finally walks out of the scene, an ominous feeling of desolation hangs about,

A sense of loss marked the passing of time, of fleeting beauty that never fails to stroke my sensitivity,

of split-second madness provoked by daunting affairs and poignant familiarity of
the changing day,

of friends who found their way together on an island away from home just to once
more offer their well-meaning hugs at the dawn of tomorrows.

So will I be, as the sun sets but for a moment leaving the world in darkness for a time

I won’t leave an unimposing way to bid this day goodbye.

~Boracay / August 26, 2007 / 5:36pm

Saturday night in the metropolis is just like any other days ~ mundane and unexciting except for full-packed bars and congested night spots. Just makes me wonder why people are drawn to these places unbothered by the fumes that are slowly killing their lungs and the suffocating heat that burns like hell.

It was a casual meeting at Ayala, apprehensive but after enough probing I was quite trusting. Everything was so normal ~ nothing was amiss except for some minute details that I shrugged off as irrelevant. But alas! They tell me something that my grey cells
fail to register. It must have been the similarity, the very familiar features, the profuse sweating that urges me to consider something. But I deliberately turn off my logical machinations and spend the night on blindfolds.

After all has been said and done, a fearful revelation stares me at the face. How could I be so dumb? Did not my instincts tell me earlier that detriment lurks just around the corner? How could it all pass me by? I was so confident that I know much about human
psychology to read between the lines to keep me from being fooled. But that did
not happen tonight. Disaster was not abated, I crashed on to something long
been standing before me without being noticed.

When everything is disclosed, skeletons are uncovered and secrets are exposed.  At times we have learned to live behind self-made facades, loved to hide under emotional pretenses and took comfort in half-baked truths. But we never knew how we always end up giving ourselves away, stripped bare with nothing more to cover.

~Cebu City / July 21, 2007 / 8:46pm

There was nothing special about you when we first met.
It was not even your face that captured my sight when I took the seat with you.
It was your smile that I saw first that caused my heart to beat unordinarily.
It was your teeth that weakens my resolve not to give in to a stranger’s kiss.
I could not but be drawn like magnet to kiss your lips before the night ends.

It was not you that I wanted to meet on a bleak plain evening.
It was not even your buoyant disposition that made me forgot the despondency of
my stay.
It was your hands that made me realize I’m starting to enjoy the ride.
It was your touch that sets off myriad of sensations I refused to believe.
I could only hold on to enough strength never to say yes when all has been
decided.

I never wanted it to happen, not with you or with other people around.
Not on a lazy night spent in drunken stupor,
Not in a room darkened with our wild imaginations of pleasure,
Not in so ordinary a situation that we miss the purpose and reason,
When friendship was never allowed to grow.
Not when that would be all the chance we got in life and never made the most of
it.

~Iloilo City /  July 20, 2007 /  11:34pm