We're moving on!

.
It is with both a big sigh and a big smile that we will soon be leaving this blog--the only one among so many that I've had all these years and the only one that really got me going.

It is this blog that kept everything that I just wanted out of my brain, all the dirt and the unnecessary thoughts, and those overflowing from my cup that needed something to catch, lest they fall back into the earth unused. It is also the same blog that showered in the cries of my heart and perhaps it has gone deaf of my whinings.

But my heart could not contain as much this gladness that is raining down on me. Finally, after years and years of wanting and planning, we launch our own website. Perhaps in a way this is symbolic as it could be about how I am moving on with my life.

Close friends and I love to refer to me as a "Goldy Bear", but where have I been all these past years? "Hibernating!" But then I have awakened. And I come to rise with that slow and full stretching, a little nudging, a little wanting to go back to bed and curl up again...

But with the magnificent thoughts of the sun shining outside, of the fresh air, of the flowers and the trees, and all the fruits and nuts and honey that await, I am in the waking up of a lost consciousness, the momentous redemption of a lost pride, and the continuation of a journey that was commenced and halted for sometime, in order to claim the glory of a life that earlier in my youth I have deferred through the prostitution of desires. (Don't bother asking, my musings are carrying my words away from my thoughts today!)

Yes, I have already compromised a lot of "what could have beens", so today, we move on, to a whole new adventure of the Midnight Writer.

Set sail with me. Life goes on. Cheers!

Night of the Fireflies: A Housewarming Party

RSVP TO THE EVENT!

Time	24 November at 00:00 - 15 December at 06:00
Location	Musings of the Midnight Writer Fan Page http://facebook.com/funstained Legazpi City, Philippines
Created by:	Musings of the Midnight Writer
More info	Calling all Firefly Lovers: You are cordially invited to join us for a house warming party at the new Musings of the Midnight Writer Website!^_^ Submit your original writings and artworks to minagayon [at] gmail [dot] com and have your work featured on the site's new page devoted solely for the love of fireflies! ... FREE TO JOIN! Two Divisions: (1) Competing - 18 years old and above as of entry to contest - resides within Albay, Sorsogon, Naga (2) non-competing - open to all E-mail Format: Subject: I'm attending *Division *Title *Poem *Category - bikol or eng tags *real name - *50-word author's bio *business address *email address contact # pen name All fields required for competing party-goers. Submit as many as you like. * required for non-competing participants. "JUST FOR FUN" prizes await winners in the competing division. More details on criteria, selection and judgment process, to be posted soon. (Will announce the new website URL soon too ^_^)   Check out the Facebook Fan Page here to view the guest list. ^_^ BASIC GUIDELINES NO PURCHASE, FEE, OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN, AND PURCHASES, FEES, AND PAYMENTS WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DEPEND ON THE RATINGS THAT THE ONLINE COMMUNITY OF MOTMW USERS (the"firefly musers”) GIVES TO YOUR ELIGIBLE POEMS AND ON THE JUDGING OF THE QUALITY OF YOUR POEMS BY A PANEL OF JUDGES FROM MOTMW’S SELECTION COMMITTEE (THE "Midnight JUDGES”) ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA SET FORTH BELOW. CONTEST OPEN TO PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED POETS WHO MEET THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH BELOW. CONTEST ENDS DECEMBER 14, 2011 AT 11:59 PM PACIFIC TIME (THE "CONTEST PERIOD”). TO ENTER: To be eligible to win prizes, your poem(s) must meet all of the following criteria: Your poem(s) must be in Bikol or English, your poems must be your original work, and you must not assign or license to any other party any copyrights or other rights in your poems. Poems should not contain material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, pornographic, harassing, threatening, harmful, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable. Proper spelling and grammar also help. ELIGIBILITY: Contest open to individual persons who are 18 or older as of the time of their initial entry. OWNERSHIP AND USE OF WINNING POEMS: All entrants retain the copyright rights that they have in the poems they submit, but all entrants, by participating in this Contest and submitting poems, grant MOTMW and any of MOTMW’s successors and assigns the perpetual and irrevocable right, license, and ability to use and publish all submitted poems (in the format submitted or in an altered format and in complete form or in excerpted form) on MOTMW’s websites, on other websites, and in other media, for any purpose. Entrants’ opportunity to submit their poems and participate in this Contest constitutes full consideration for the foregoing grant. The foregoing grant requires no further consideration and is not dependent on entrants’ winning any prizes. MOTMW can publish or decline to publish, or use or decline to use, any submitted poems in MOTMW’s sole discretion. -- [su muya mag donate ki prize, mag pm sana po sa admins kan page! hehe] CHEERS!!

Tigsik, Tigsik, ano ang naiisip?

.

TIGSIK is one of a kind.

     It is a form of literature unique only to the Bicolano folks. An old form of poetry, it literally means "toast". It has no rigid format but is usually a four-line sharp-edged piece (on almost any subject) and is recited during gatherings until everyone is too inebriated for poetry.

     I first came across this literary form via The Mayon, the official school paper of Bicol University's High School  Department, which had a column dedicated for it. I just know if it is a tigsik if it begins with "Tigsik ko ining...." and is followed by a crisp, witty, and poetic commentary on almost anything.

     Nevertheless, appreciation for it has always been set aside, for despite it's poetic value, yours truly was void of any relevant cultural experience that could have unlocked the mystery values of the tirigsikan.

     Until just recently, in the literary circle of Bikolanos on Facebook, an online Tigsikan was successfully launched. I realized then that the probable cause for my inattention to the tigsik is because most of what I have read are mere fragments, independent 4-liners that were just compiled together to sample what a tigsik is. 

 

What seems to fill the gap in my understanding of the tigsik is the sense of community and the presence by which the tigsik is delivered before an audience. 

 

CONTENT ADVISORY:

LANGUAGE: The following may contain words that may be offensive or unacceptable for others due to parts with suggestions and statements on human sensuality fit only in an adult-themed discussion. It is recommended for the young readers to proceed with the guidance of a teacher or parent.

ATTRIBUTION: Without disregard for attributions or credits, the names of the participants have been removed from their individual contributions to the Tigsikan with respect to the privacy settings of their Facebook profiles where the contributors' walls are mostly hidden from public view. If you wish however to be identified/or for your post to be removed, please feel free to send us a private message or email. Thank you.

 

Warm-up sa Dahon ni Manoy Jim

Jimple Uy Borlagdan Tuesday at 5:40
Hineras ni Noel Dorente:

tinigsik ko ining tirigsikan daa sa facebook
pakaraskasan daa kang mapanurugdas na hutok
pagbuhay sa kabudyahan na nangaturog
ngonyan sa internet satong ibalangibog!

            Tigsik ko ining tirigsikan sa Facebook
            punan ta na bago marugok
            dai matakot kun mabilot
            basta an baso palubot
            Tuesday at 05:45 • 1 person likes this.
          o
            tigsik sa paglologin
            kun mayong siring (money sign)
            dai makaka-farming
            Tuesday at 06:40 •
          o
           tinigsik ko ining facebook
            mga tawo daing pandok''
            alagad anong riribok
            maski dai midbid mga katood
            Tuesday at 06:49 • 2 people
          o
            tinigsik ko ining peysbok
            an parasurat maribok
            kun mga kanatad turospok
            pirming pwerte an urulok
            Tuesday at 06:50 •
          o
            tigsik sa mayong ngaran
            sa friendster angay ka duman
            Tuesday at 06:54 • 1 person
          o
            tinigsik ko an status
            married pero single
            complicated pero married
            ay! mamili ka "varied"
            Tuesday at 06:55 •
          o
            tigsik sa daing girong
            mahilg sa like, daing opinyon
            supog lang an status ignoron
            Tuesday at 06:57 • 3 people
          o
            tigsik sa bakong friendly
            sadiring post, ila-like ini
            ma-comment pa sa sadiri
            Tuesday at 06:59 • 2 people
          o
           tigsik ko an mga nagkokomentar
            digdi sa facebook kan banwaan
            kung minsan dai man ki kamugtakan
            basta sana may maitaram...
            Tuesday at 06:59 • 2 people
          o
            tigsik ko an comment
            hidaw si Manoy Ben
            saiyang mga prends
            halat saiyang moment
            Tuesday at 07:00 •
          o
            tinigsik ko ining durat
            pirming igwang pighahalat
            da maginibo su kagrat
            ni may na igwa mang ka tsat
            Tuesday at 07:04 •
          o
            tigsik ko an lanob
            pangkurit panglakop
            gabos na ngurob ngurob
            pwera sana an hambog -
            Tuesday at 07:05 •
          o
            tigsik sa mga daing maginibo
            ipigpopost sarisaring video
            dawa r-18 o violensya iniyo
            Tuesday at 07:07 • 1 person
          o
            tigsik ko an shoutout
            pakurusugan kan gasod
            makaabot sa pitong bulod
            Tuesday at 07:08 •
          o
            tigsik ko an mga lalaking parainom
            maski atab pa hanap pampabuyong
            pag dai makaligok ki likidong bugsok
            malibong payo, halunan naghahagok...
            Tuesday at 07:09 • 1 person
          o
            tigsik sa groups na sarisari
            pagkwela, ila-like tulos ni
            dangan lingaw na digdi
            Tuesday at 07:11 •
          o
            tigsik ko an bangui
            toninong makawili
            an sakong si padi
            sabi maturog na kami!
            Tuesday at 07:11 •
          o
            bye na nguna an beauty ko -
            Dios magbantay saindo gabos!
            Tuesday at 07:12 •
          o
            sa mga pirming online ining tigsik
            dai na nagluluwas, minagimik
            bangkag na sa kalalagatik
            Tuesday at 07:12 •
          o
            tigsik sa mga magurang
            sa fb yaraon naman palan
            wall kan aki binabantayan
            Tuesday at 07:14 • 2 people
          o
            tinigsik ko ining pirot
            matanga na oras kalot
            mahigda na ngunang balot
            ta uroldot na su lubot
            Tuesday at 07:19 •
          o
            tigsikon ko daw ining alas nueve
            ta an iba nangtigsik na kasubanggi
            hanggang digdi sana ngaya ini
            ta bako man baga kita labi-labi
            Tuesday at 17:48 •
          o
            tigsik sa satong password
            idtong masakit dapat gayod
            tanganing mayong makatood
            Tuesday at 17:50 •
          o
            tigsik sa mga matibay na hacker
            aram nya daw password ta* aber
            Tuesday at 17:54 •
          o
            tigsik ko ining thread
            halaba garo sliced bread
            gabos maurag, gabos well said
            sabi ngani sa Tiwi dabid!
            Tuesday at 19:48 • 2 people
          o
            tinigsik ko ining facebook
            mga bikolano digdi mariribok
            payt-payt sana an urulok.
            maski minsan medyo nagsasamok.
            Wednesday at 02:38 •
          o
            tinigsik ko ining...
            oops, sorry may nag-atot.
            Wednesday at 02:43 •
          o
            tigsik ko an saimong atot
            gibo kan haludon na parot
            na sablok sa mapanos na nilanot
            sa buli ni tiya tinay kinutkot!
            ...:DD
            Wednesday at 04:01 • 1 person
          o
            tinigsik ko itong buling kinutkot
            hapon na gayod kang ito sinurok
            nagcomputer na dai nagsabon
            yinuro-yamyaman baga an pagulon!
            Wednesday at 04:47 •
          o
            tigsik ko ining katungkaan
            mabisita sako aru-atyan
            kaya dapat nang kumakan
            tanganig diretso sa higdaan
            Wednesday at 12:35 •
          o
            ahahaa
            Wednesday at 17:01 • 1 person
          o
           tigsik ko ngarakngak ni Dyubani
            gari pigsang pinusdak ki perdible
            su sapurak pano sarong balde
            Wednesday at 18:14 •
          o
            tigsik sa sakong gutom
            oras-oras minapagiromdom
            pinangat daa o kaya natong
            Wednesday at 18:17 • 

     From the tigsik samplers of high school days (that looked like fragmented verses at first glance which called to mind the Fireflies of Rabindranath and the Haiku of Japan), observing the online Tirigsikan brought me into the light and set me into reading a collaborative poetry which can be essentially compared to the Renga of Japan delivered in the flair and wit of the traditional Tagalog Balagtasan (despite that this online Tirigsikan is without the traditional 'sumsuman' or merrymaking with wine with which it is known for).

 

An Paglansar kan Tigsikan ni Manoy Jim buda ni Praning

Jimple Uy Borlagdan ► Praning's Korner Taga Legazpi

Tigsik ko an banggi
digdi sa dahon ni Taga Legazpi
ano maray na pagtirigsikan
dai akong maisipan

Wednesday at 03:34 

•        o
              sa banging ini wara man ako ma isip
              nata daw pag arog kaini dipisil mag tigsik
              sa kadakulan kang nasa payo wara mailuwas sa sakong puyo?
              Wednesday at 03:36 •
            o
              Tigsik ko an pag-isip
              pagkaipuhan dipisil i-osip
              pero nata pagturutambara
              an hisdal nagbabaha-baha?
              Wednesday at 03:38 •
            o
              sa sakong pag hurop hurop
              mantang sabaw pig hihigop
              ano daw maray na pag tigsikan
              digdi sa dahon ko ngunyan???
              Wednesday at 03:39 •
            o
              Tigsik ko an saimong pig-aatid-atid
              aram kong sa hutok nagsurusaralabid
              maray kaan palumuyon ki diit na pasagid
              sa ngimot kan basong nakakapaligid
              Wednesday at 03:41 •
            o
              dai ko man urog maiisip
              nata baga sa utok ko nagsarabit
              mga muyang iluwas kan sakong mga muro
              gamit ko lang sa nguso
              Wednesday at 03:45 •
            o
              tigsik ko an pagkomposo
              hali sa wara pasiring sa igwa
              garo pagdakop sa layas na kabayo
              an silaod halipot, may bari an abaga
              Wednesday at 03:48 •
            o
              an bangui sarong tigsik,
              an pagkamoot, mga rignos sa diklom.
              tigsik ko an bangui
              ta igwa siyang namit,
              ...
              alagad may naghihibi
              sa sarong harong sa harayo,
              may puting kandila, may puting paros.
              Wednesday at 03:49 •
            o
              sa pagsurat ko ki mga rawit dawit
              sa kahaluyan katutukaw makulog sa lapit
              pag anap kan mga tataramon
              sakong makuwa ang sakong paglaom
              Wednesday at 03:51 •
            o
              tigsik ko an pagsurat
              huna pwede marabat
              kiray mo masarabat
              bulbol mo mahurunat
              Wednesday at 03:53 •
            o
              maski ini kulot
              dakol muya kumusot
              halaba dakula
              sakuya ining padaba
              Wednesday at 03:54 •
            o
              Tigsik ko an mga lalaking hambog kumakan nin matataba,
              Alagad kun an mga ini palan naiistrok
              Si manoy masakit na man na makatindog
              Uminom pang dugo nin kobra, dai na minaisog.
              Wednesday at 03:55 •
            o
              tigsik ko an panurat
              kasugpon halabang maparat
              kayang baduson an papel
              kan mga tataramon kan anghel
              Wednesday at 03:56 •
            o
              tigsikan na daing padumanan
              pero dakol na maaram
              sa kada tigsik
              liwoy ko biyo nag taralsik
              Wednesday at 03:57 •
            o
              malulupit po kamu..!!!! mayo kamung ka parihas sa kinaban
              Wednesday at 03:58 •
            o
              Tigsik ko an satong tigsikan
              enot sa Facebook hinaman
              pag kan iba namuklatan
              marambong an satong napunan!
              ...mabalos padi! mauragon! :DD
              Wednesday at 03:59 • 1 person
            o
              maray baga ining tigskan
              payp asin utak ko nag durudalagan
              exercise kan sakong utak
              na garo na baga linupak
              Wednesday at 04:00 •
            o
              tigsik ko si praning pag abot sa korner.
              ang saeyang pag tigsik nakaka praning.
              Wednesday at 04:01 • 2 people
            o
              sa masunod naman praning korner
              pagnagkauyon na garo togeder
              makabuyong pero daing hangober
              magtirigsikan kita por eber
              Wednesday at 04:05 • 2 people
            o
              pinaunrhan mo ako salamat pading jimple
              uya lugod nagluwas so sakong dimple
              ngirit na aga mulach na baga ako
              pag nagbayle gaor si vhong navarro
              Wednesday at 04:06 • 1 person
            o
              sakong pag bisita sa saimo dahon pranz tigsikan nindo duwa ni jimple swabeng swabe tigsikan nindo sna gangiuibuhon burubangi ngani samo bangi pirmi hapi.classm8 inda ko ok na ba ini?hapot lng hain kana ta binayaan mo kmi??
              Wednesday at 04:47 • 1 person
            o
             pag age ko dgd.sa dahon na nipa ninda praning. teg pabakal lang ako nin mantika saka suka ni mama naula sa sapa. sa ka babasa nin mga man lain lain na tigsik na nag kukurit sa tinampong mainit.
              Wednesday at 05:01 •
            o
              sakong mga amigo,
              kasubaggui nakibale ako
              sa maogmang tirigsikan nindo
              alagad ngonian an sakuyang payo
              garo daing laman, an utak blanko.
              ...pero maski puru paano
              ako mokontribo, sa maogmang
              tirigsikan nindo.
              tigsik ko ining tirigsikan
              sa isip nagpapayaman
              pwedeng umentra maski sisay
              basta an mensahe malaman....
              :D :D
              Wednesday at 05:09 •
            o
              ‎@ manay bie: wara man ki topic pano trip trip lang me pading jimple
              Wednesday at 05:41 • 1 person
            o
              aram ko nonoy na daing topic
              pero ako napapaisip
              kung ano an maray na itigsik
              sa arog tang may mga trip?
              Wednesday at 05:52 • 1 personlikes this.
            o
             Tigsik maragsik nag ririsik risik
              Managum manamit mahaldat malanit.
              Wednesday at 05:59 • 1 personlikes this.
            o
              Tigsik ko an ginigibong pa tago,
              kan mag-ilusyon nangurapot garo tuko’
              siisay sainda an tolos maduko’?
              Tinitigsik ko an rumansa kan mga Agta,
              ...Maski sa mga sanga ginigibo, nakurapot sana,
              Sagkod na mabari kun nagkikiwig-kiwig na.
              Wednesday at 06:01 •
            o
              bravo!!!:) mga amtibayon man kamo...
              Wednesday at 14:31 •
            o
              an tigsik ni praning...ma.......
              Wednesday at 23:17 •
            o
              ano na iyan n tirigsikan na yan..gari daing magkairisipan????
              Wednesday at 23:54 •
            o
              Mheng, kaya ngani nagtitirigsikan tabi ta dakolon na nanag-kakairisipan, biyong nagsusurupay. :)
              Yesterday at 02:29 • 1 person
            o
              tigsik tigsik
              ano ang naiisip
              maski ano ang trip
              dai lingawan su'logon ang brip
              Yesterday at 02:31 •
  

     Just like the renga, the solo tigsik continues to be written around and are just about the same in form and essence, but somehow, it leaves me with the impression that the implications of a participative and collaborative Tirigsikan, will bring us to a closer experience of how our forefathers had it during their severely drunk and merry poetic times.

     A live and personal Tirigsikan has yet to happen within our rounds at present, (and I mean outside of the four-corners of the literature class!) but warming up the walls of the Bikolano literary circle on Facebook, Jim Borlagdan of Kun Bikolano Ka, Mag-Bikol Ka, Praning's Korner Taga Legazpi, Franco Sangreo of LitraTulâ are rounds of Tirigsikan with contributions from other poets and enthusiasts.

"Tigsik kita..." - An Paki-Agyatan ni Manoy Jim Borlagdan Makipag-Tigsikan sa Dahon ni Franco Sangreo

Franco Coralde Sangreo Yesterday at 07:15 

Ano an naitanom ko ngunyan? Mabuhay kaya ini dawa magadan an kinaban? 

•           o
             tigsik kita manoy?
              Yesterday at 07:25 •
            o
              payt..
              Yesterday at 07:29 •
            o
              ano ngayang tema?
              Yesterday at 07:33 •
            o
              manungod satung kulturang bikolnon, punan ko na:
              Tinigsik ko'ng parasurat
              sa Bikol gulping maurag
              siging tirigsik magdamlag
              ...kinaugma luluya ta puyat
              Yesterday at 07:37 •
            o
              tigsik ko an parasurat
              hutok nangangarawat
              sabi ko nang bakong rabat
              dipisil baga mang-arat
              Yesterday at 07:40 •
            o
              Tinigsik ko an pagsurat
              pantais kapwa parasurat
              magtarangka o maghalat
              masurat maski sisay mag agyat
              Yesterday at 07:47 •
            o
              Tigsik ko ining Bikolnon
              dakulon an tataramon
              oyaon digdi an gayon
              kun satuyang atamanon
              Yesterday at 07:57 •
            o
              Tigsik ko an parasurat
              tuod sa paghalat
              kun nuarin mawaltak
              an liday hali sa alak
              Yesterday at 07:57 •
            o
              Bikolnon tigsikon ko
              tigsikon ko ki tudo
              ta ogma an daghan ko
              na danay ini sa tawo
              Yesterday at 07:59 •
            o
              tigsik taka pading franco
              parasurat uragon daing salto
              ta an bilang kan linya sarakto
              Yesterday at 08:01 • 1 person
            o
              Tigsik ko ining mata ko
              kaya gayud suminakto
              an mga bilang sa linya ko
              buta'ng wala muklat to-o
              Yesterday at 08:06 •
            o
              tigsik ko mga sakto mong linya
              pwedeng sa mata pero garo sa talinga
              an hulog kan tataramon pinalitada
              dai lamang makikigkig an maaging rida
              Yesterday at 08:08 •
            o
              tigsik ko an satong tigsikan
              kaipuhan ko na magpaaram
              nag-aapod na an higdaan
              kaipuhan pang mangaturugan
              Yesterday at 08:18 • 1 person
            o
              Tinigsik ta ka pading Jim
              pigmawot ta kang mahiling
              alagad habo ko an gin
              sa harampangan ugaring
              Yesterday at 08:19 •
            o
              Tinigsik ko an orasan
              iyo, matanga na palan
              an satuyang Kagurangan
              kairiba sa higdaan.
              ...mabalos pading JIM...sa tigsikan ta
              Yesterday at 08:23 •
            o
              mabalos man padi, nabugak su hutok ko. muya ko burubanggi arog kaito. :)
              15 hours ago •

     This is just perhaps the first three rounds of Tirigsikan online, I hope that there will be more to come, because there is so much more to know and learn about this form of poetry, the Tigsik. 

      You probably had fun reading the posts, so just think how much more it would be if you could utter your own responses and take part in the tigsikan? I think that would be a lot more fun!

      The renewed interest of us Bikolanos in this traditional endeavor, if can be sustained through collective efforts, will not only strengthen and encourage literary productivity and cultural scholarship in the region, but will also bring forth more people into the circle to contribute to the current efforts of perpetuating the Bikol language and provide support and continuum to the long heralded and often heard-about new renaissance of Bicol literature and arts.

THE COOLEST THING PERHAPS ABOUT THE "AGYATAN"??

THE TIRIGSIKAN SA FB COMMUNITY 
WAS BORN AND CAME TO LIFE!

 Note: Bicol is generally accepted as the spelling of the name of the region, thus Bicolano refers to the people who live or whose roots originate from the place. Bikol is used to refer to the language and a Bikolano is someone who utters the language.

Read more about the TIGSIK via Bicol Wikipedia. 
Some information can also be found at Tigsik Bicol.

Friends of Mind

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butterfly or firefly, be free to roam around,
whether you come in the warmth and brightness of midday,
or in the cold stark darkness of midnight,
delight with me in sweetness and light.

i cultivate my garden, from grass to flowers, the trees that shade,
to those from which fruits, leaves, and barks fall down, which scents and flavors
may or may not all please your choosy buds, and decorate the lawn
with play things and marvels that by walking in the forests are found.

all beauty and meaning are however well-contained,
kept and saved in a special place for revelry and rest,
when all the day is spent to live, for the sake of friends
who are the most beautiful enemies of each one's poetic sense.
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--
As Emerson did write, friends indeed are the most beautiful enemies and our ideas often sound better when they tell them to us. The title of the post was inspired by the following lines from Toni Morrison:

"She is a friend of mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am,
she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.
It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind."

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An Mga Aninipot sa Busay

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One night in Busay

there was an outage of power supply

right in front of Bobot's house

lurked fireflies with flickering lights

Busay is a barangay just a few meters ahead of the entrance to Cagsaua Ruins,
the famous tourist spot at the foot of Mount Mayon
which features the remnant bell tower of the stone church
that got all buried during the 1814 eruption of the volcano.

This verse is a pensive recollection of a night when
friends of the pen leisurely gathered at Bobot's residence.

Autumn Fireflies - Part 3: Pagkasulnop Minabangui

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(c)20 August 2004 5:30pm. Legazpi City, Philippines

Autumn Fireflies - Part 2

Chasing the Sun...

Searching through, treading where the leaves have come thicker by the number, the idea of this scribbling came to me like dust settling on my pad as filters of thought would on top of some barely used appliance.... I fell silent in awe and delight of the many splendid colors that spraye in my  midst! the magnificent variety--and now they're coming to me like the crimson sun's caressing touch on the rock face of the earthen sphere! I am not a good conversationalist; I often bring the indulgence of sharing thoughts to a calm surrender, and in the stillness and the silence, let divine thoughts play most freely, despising the need for a mesh of words. But vindications of thoughts are simply in great paradoxes! For eyes are not without a shade of disbelief from spiritual enlightenment over the true countenance of life.  We are all but particular substances: elemental passions trapped within the magnificent test tubes of the Great Scientist. I know I am not to be saved from this cleavage of burden and choice; for, weighing what is proper to me, my academics in the observing world, I felt, have branded me with tags pricing with brilliant judgment what they outrightly claim I posess, while all my other seemingly natural occurrences, they have carefully appraised as mere sediments of stone and sand.  Yet, I do contend The Pen has to bleed, to purge, The Dream, and The Words, that in the humdrum of inexperience are being deliberated whether to be pursued and sustained or, be detested and deleted yet fittingly are disposed again on the deck to draw upon in time. I entered through a door that has been opened for quite sometime before me, half-knowing what is there to find once I've crossed the line. I wonder, how, the virtues of fortune allow this frail cruiser to escapade at sea! I have trod along this path with the sinceres and purest intentions that I have, duty-bound to the fulfillment of some romantic visions, which to many, are but wild and crazy dreams. My hands led me here, when my feet were starting to feel numb already.... I felt a powerful presence... then, there was a silence that proved a voice was harkening in my midst. It told me, "You must quit holding back...You must set off and let the world know you are alive. even when being different could mean to be at odds with the world, you must be firm in your stance. Else, you will suffer for the desires that you would have given to your heart if not for the sake of compromising what you want... "You must be patient. You must not cease the search, even when in wait; the next ride of your life could pass you by ina  moment's bliss..." Then I met My Stranger. As our eyes met, it seemed like I was looking down a well which is so much delighted in showing me all the things that have been for ages been rambling in my brain, only they were in better visual order.  It evoked something in me--an explorable field of feelings. I wanted to shrink down to the minutest particle of atom at such a confontation, or perhaps, evaporate fast before the cork is screwed above me, as if I were the most volatile thing there is. But my subdivisions have become chillingly frozen, only slowly melting like ice cream on the lips of such a cute child. A consummate strangeness smoothly traced the wilderness of my repulsive sense. My time halted. Then again, My Stranger uttered words that to this day echo when the world embraces the fluid darkness of the night.... Thoughts and words continue to flow from the delicate bottle of unadulterated substance inebriating into the reams of extracted flesh, as the theses of The Pen continue the honesty of their own issuance and edition. I've been long lost in my wandering; but I now know, an no longer as alone in my feat. My Stranger, I must recognize, has become my most familiar ally, and by the break of dawn, we shall meet some more who might be with us, to walk with us through the pages of history and time amidst the rage of oblivion and suffering, to make manifest the virtues of The Pen, in this ancient quest of the land's true youth. As with the fireflies that chase the sun at twilight, so are we to dare seize the day beneath the moon's cradling calm....   *** ***** *** *** ****** ** * ********** **** ***** Repolles, Goldimyrr B. "The Fireflies in Autumn." Legazpi City, Philippines. Copyright August 2004.