Passage to Hades

Sadness cloaks as dark veil in this moonlit night
Voices echoing like ancient belfry towers
Earthly vessels that contain thine flesh and blood,
Lay cold deep within the bowels of mother earth.

Must fire consume the Phoenix to resurrect,
When the resurrected could not join the living?
We carry sepulchres in lifetime journeys,
Only to die again as if we are not dead

Oh great Fire Bird shed thy tears on their ashes
Their passage to the land of Hades, so untimely
If my fervent pleas to Cronus be heeded
My treasure I will give to the oarsman of death

Row,row, row my joy back to me dear Charon
Cleanse my every sorrow with the waters of Styx
Let me rewrite all the pages of my life
And take hold of every fleeting moment with them

Farewell Pa and Ma

One can replace a son or a daughter but, never a father and a mother. I have tried so many times figuring what to say about the two source of my physical being - my biological mom and dad. It gives me so much pain thinking my expression of affection and gratefulness to them is never suffice to pay back the love they gave for their children. Mama (64), passed away silently in her sleep during the first lunar month of 2007; Papa (73, while still bearing the pain of losing his lifetime partner suffered a stroke, and died during a Christmas shopping the same year.

People say children are lend by God to parents. Now I say, parents are lend by God to be their children’s guardian angels and should never be taken for granted before it’s too late. Today, as I lie down in this lonely evening unplugged from the rest of the world, my thought shouts for so many questions. Have the souls of my dear parent's reached the gates of heaven; are they at peace with God? Could they just be beside me carefully reading the lines I write about them? Could they be in another time or dimension where awaiting a giant spaceship that takes the soul of our departed loved ones onto a distant part of the cosmos where the Pharaos and Kings are destined to be for their eternal life? Which level could have they achieve out of the seven heavens? Would they still know me if we ever meet someday?


When things go wrong and nothing seems to be right any more, I find solace in immersing my soul in the land of Hades where there seems to be more life than the world of the living. Within its bounds life flashes back as streams of memories outpour imprinted by what used to be their earthly vessels. My parents taught us not only love and forgiveness, but humility in every triumph, courage in adversity, and compassion when there is pain.



Mama was a strong-willed person who never held any degree affixed to her name but still managed the very best out of her life's vocation. Oh how comforting it is recalling her sweet lullabies. Mom taught me how to appreciate the beauty of mornings when God showers daily graces upon the earth for those who would rise up early and seek graces. I also learned from her how to value the beauty of nature where we can get life's simple but priceless pleasures.


Papa, as we fondly called our dad, was an intelligent and compassionate human being. He was loved by many especially by people he worked with. He has an open heart for those in need and never lost his belief that someday his country is going to be great again. He loved music (and singing) so much that on his last day he was playing our favourite Christmas songs of childhood (a daily ritual in our house that everyone in our neighbourhood can attest to due to its loudness!).

No blog is enough to put all the wonderful things one can say about anyone’s parents. After losing both within one year, my life is shattered to pieces. Their passing away was so unexpected and so sudden that I don't even have the tears any more in their funerals.

Since all Life comes from God, I think I have no right to question their demise for I am just a minuscule and insignificant spec in the vast expanse of this multi-layered Universe. Perhaps, it would be best to think that we never really lost them at all, assuming there is indeed life after death. Where they are now is where I am right now –right here in my heart and mind. They will always be a part of me as long as I live. I and my siblings are a union of them in marriage. Genetically, they are us and we are a part of them. Knowing that, I am at peace just as when I was a little child comfortable in my crib.


As I follow the same path my parents journeyed in this life, their love will shine through guiding us like a torch in the night through the remaining years of our lives. We love you Ma and Pa. Thank You so much for raising us in this world and showing the real beauty of it. Life is indeed short but sweet. Farewell...farewell our beloved flesh and blood. See you again. Thank You for the sweet and everlasting memories of our lives. :*)

A Heart That Beats

Tell Me not to make poems
Tell me not to make rhymes
I don't know how to make any
I don't know how to make one

Ask me not to make verses
Ask me not to make hymns
For I am such a crazy person
Who can't even whistle a tune

I'll never be a poet
No never shall I be,
For I don't even have sweet words
To express my love to thee..

Shakespeare has a honey tongue
I got a soul that is neat
But there is one thing we have in common,
I too, have a heart that beats!

Sunrise Addict

I am a sunrise addict. As a young boy living in the countryside, I often times would wake up early in the morning while half of the whole world is fast asleep. I would rise from my bed, fix it up, hurry my way down to the front door, and sit on the steps. Everything is in cathedral silence as I can still see the clouds covering the mountains, and the virgin dews on the ground on which no living creature hasn't stepped yet. Then I would gaze at the fading stars, and look at the moonlight, as the dry-crisp cool air touches my body.

The dusk had stolen theworld I would say, but I have faith the sun will come back to bring us the dawn of a new-born day. The flowers are a-bloom, the birds flap their feathers like tiny beat of cherub's wings, the rooster gives its defiant crow, while the crickets perform their last cacophony of music. But ah, I can see now my faithful friend who never fails to appear beyond those hills. Her round golden-red color begins to take form as it rises up to the blue skies. Shadows start to appear behind the pageantry of trees, and I can feel now her warmness.

Oh glorious sun, my only one. If I can just touch you, and hold you close to my heart. I wish you knew how immense are my feelings for you. Yet you are millions of miles away from me, and sometimes those dark clouds would take you from my sight, still I fear nothing. Nothing in this world but the power of the night can separate me from you now. And yes, God created the oceans and the seas for you to set-in as the day ends. But the mountains and the hills have always been there waiting for you to rise, and for me to sit all alone here on this lovely morning to wonder upon you, and sigh.

May 1982