A Golfer's Invictus

(This is one of my earlier poems published in our class website. I've included it here so that it would not be left out in the event my son decides to put my blogs in book form.)


          Out at the Master's links I see
          Hazards and traps from hole to hole;
          I know they're meant for testing me
          And my indomitable (?) soul.

          Driving for show, I lost my stance,
          Got a bad lie, I griped aloud;
          Beguiled to take another chance,
          I lost my ball, but am uncowed.

          Beyond the final hole I see
          Our Master's Place, good golfer's lair
          Where someday toasts will be on me...
          For now, I'll share with you this pray'r:-

          It matters not how tough the course,
          How seemingly unfair the call;
          God, help me play better, not worse,
          God guide my ball, as well my soul!


                                    

                              

IMAGINATION

     I pictured in my mind a secret place
     Made lovely by my soul mate's radiant face,
     And all my aches and pains just flew away,
     Gone too my woes and worries of the day;
     I prayed to God to give me happy dreams,
     No scenes of violence nor sounds of screams,
     And so I was led to this peaceful place
     To refresh my soul and receive God's grace.
     I awoke this morning raring to go
     Off to our harsh world-- unfit for the slow.
     Nothing to fear now;  I'm swift on the draw...

God, Have Mercy

     The group of retired septuagenarians (plus a few octogenarians) having coffee at the Serrramonte Mall is evidently getting fewer in number. Every now and then we hear a friend is either in the hospital or at Duggan's Funeral Parlor, or already awaiting  final funeral/ burial or crematory services at the Skylawn, Cypress, Holy Cross, or some other cemetery in our area. This is the reason why our late colleague Nick Dazig called the mall "The Departure Area". In fact, he declared that each of us now has his "boarding pass" and that we are merely waiting for our final call.
    The realization that our allotted time in this dimension will indeed have to come to an end compels us to  re-focus and review the "map" to our next "destination", if any. Is there in fact a "next" place, an afterlife, or is man's earthly life all there is, that death equals nothingness, oblivion, no heaven, no hell, just absolute Zero? The traditional Christian believer bestowed with the gift of faith will have no problem wrestling with and resolving this issue to his satisfaction. Those who are just a "tic" away from being agnostics or skeptics need a more solid foundation than what was "force-fed" to pre-adult minds in catechetical/religious classes.
     Let me try with the basic scientific fact that matter and energy are but two sides of the same coin. All matter is actually energy that to our human senses has become solidified, perceivable, palpable, measurable. But matter/energy cannot be destroyed. What then in a human being who is both made of matter and energy can be destroyed? I maintain - only his physical human form, his material constituents, except his components in the subatomic level. When a human being dies, his body decomposes, turns to dust, so we assume nothing of him is left. He is dead and gone.But note that at the subatomic or quantum level his quarks, gluons, leptons, all his subatomic particles,being indestructible, must continue to subsist. Knowledgeable scientists say there are trillions and trillions of these subatomic particles in one drop of blood. This fact supports my own theory that Christ's crucifixion released an inexhaustible supply of His quanta (the particles that made up His flesh and blood as a "True Man") in order to provide the divine spark to any and all of us, including future generations, if we but accept Him into our lives and follow His final injunction to love one another as He loved us. Insofar as we ordinary human beings are concerned and as earlier contended, our subatomic components also cannot be destroyed. These particles, in my view, must still carry or contain all the data or information pertaining to and/or derived from the deceased individual to which said particles were previously linked, including all the errors, mistakes, misdeeds he committed in his lifetime. Although a person has just died and/or has been dead for sometime, many paranormal happenings involving or caused by the deceased have been reported. Several books on out-of-body and near-death experiences have been published confirming a persons's continuing self- awareness despite the fact that he was in coma and/or physically unconscious. How can a brain-dead person or fully anesthetized patient remember floating above his bed and looking down at his own physical body being operated on by the surgeon and other hospital staff, unless there was a part of him that actually observed what was going on? Let us not be timid nor embarrassed to concede that human beings do have indestructible souls. I have a fanciful but quite believable theory:- When we were young and we fell deeply in love with that flirtatious classmate in high school or in college, we thought she was our soul mate and we kept dreaming of her, thinking we could not live without her. More often than not, we later discover to our dismay that she is just another imperfect human being like all of us. But we do have soul mates. I have a soul mate and that is my own incorporeal/deathless soul which is bonded to my material/mortal body. The former has to go somewhere when my body dies. I believe when I die, my disembodied soul ( who in my mind is untouched by the passage of time and still retains my youthful image) must go back to where it originally came from--the spiritual domain.  In this regard, I have to concede that there must be a First Cause, a Creator who made us and the whole universe, for nothing can come out of nothing. And since it is also my instinct, my intuition, and my intellect that tell me  God is Just, I have to agree (and expect) that my poor soul would, after my demise, be dealt with accordingly...(nevertheless, O GOD, HAVE MERCY!)

Lies

     That which motivates not only individual persons but also artificial entities or organizations is self-preservation. Survival is the prime directive for the hunter, farmer and for tribes, nations, governments, clubs, associations, corporations, even religious bodies like the Catholic Church, the various Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim organizations. We can all agree that each and every one of these entities are Truth Seekers. But oftentimes because we instinctively seek to survive and continue on without change, we become stultified or blinded by our self-interests and stray away from, veil, or in silence refuse to articulate the truth. But all efforts to hide or bury the truth will be of no avail. It may take a few days, weeks, maybe a few years, or even decades or centuries, but in the end the naked Truth will prevail. And oftentimes the belated discovery and acquiescence of the truth can prove not only embarrassing, self-defeating but even disastrous. Note, for example, the Ampatuan case where an entire vehicle was buried in a futile attempt to hide the killing of members of the media assigned to cover a political rivalry in Mindanao. Recently, we all witnessed on TV the Weinberg "twitter" case. This is an instance where an almost nude presentatiion led to adamant remonstration, downright misreprepresentation, and finally apologetic resignation. A graver faux pas is Galileo's supposed heliocentric "heresy". We have many leaders in government, in business and the clergy who resorted to prevarication and/or misused their powers to hide misdeeds, mistakes, skeletons-in-their-closets, secret lives or loves. 
     Closer to home and since in this space I cannot tell a lie, so did I....

Time to Grow Up

     One of the last topics that Tony (Alikabok) Villanueva wanted to have a debate on was whether Virgin Mary was transported  in her physical human body to Heaven. As far as I know, the subject was between us never discussed at length, for every time we met near the Pacific SuperMarket or at the mall, he was in a hurry to go somewhere, and I guess so was I. Nevertheless, I know him well enough to state that his percipience would not allow him to concede the affirmative side of this issue. Although God is Omnipotent, I do not think He would let so-called miracles to occur in manifest violation of His own Natural Law that He has laid down for His whole creation, paticularly considering that His Omniscience tells Him these fantastic stories could only drive mere doubters to total unbelief. The clergy has had occasion to dissuade "unguided" reading by the laity of the scriptures and other sacred books, including the Quran, for untutored readers run the risk of being misguided by the mere literal meaning of the texts. For example, jihadists justify their horrific actions. because they are supposed to destroy infidels.But infidels are those who do not obey God's Commandments. And the Muslim's Quran prohibits the killing of innocent non-combatants. So who then are the infidels if not the jihadists themselves?
     In this day and age, most people of the civilized world should now be sufficiently enlightened to be abe to separate the chaff from the grain in the holy scriptures.Fairy stories are OK for children. But let's not be (kidded) kids forever... Time to grow up, gentlemen.

Govern for the Living

      If I understood Thomas Paine's counsel stated in his work "The Rights of Man", the purpose of government is to govern the living, not the dead.  It is the government's responsibility to accomodate the present generation, to make laws appropriate or necessary to meet the current challenges, and not simply stick stubbornly to a modus vivendi which may have been proper in the past and made into law by a past body of lawgivers but could no longer be sustained under present circumstances. There appears to be no dispute that there is need for a re-assessment of all taxpayer-funded programs now being administered or controlled by the government. Our leaders apparently all agree inaction can only lead to the nation's bankruptcy. Our current batch of young workers is being burdened with taxes for a social security fund that we all know would soon have no funds at all. This is a manifest injustice that deserves urgent correction. It is reported that 100,000 employees of retirement age will in fact henceforth retire each and every day and they would be expecting to receive their respective pensions. Just printing more paper money to meet these obligations is obviously not a sound solution. While the passage of tax laws is a Congressional prerogative, may not the President also be able to exercise his executive discretion and momentarily hold in abeyance enforcement versus our young workers that portion of a tax measure intended to fund a program from which they could not possibly derive any benefit? Remedial action should be done now. It is hoped that our leaders will act in a timely fashion so to avert this sword of Damocles falling on Uncle Sam's head. If I may translate a Tagalog saying to conclude:- "Of what use is grass to a dead cayuse?"

A Gambling Man's Consolation Prize

     (This is a substantially revised version of Shakespeare's "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes...")

     When I've lost all my chips at slots and dice,
     I all alone beweep my luckless state,
     And blaming Dame Fortune with futile cries,
     I crawl back home, beggared, cursing my fate,
    Wishing that I should not have overstayed
     Trying to find that looser lucky slot.
     Now I fear my bills will remain unpaid,
     Unless I hit the MegaMillion pot...

     Life is a gamble, so while I live I must try:-
     Pursue long odds, but if in penury I die,
    Then thru the needle's eye, with ease my soul shall fly!

To Tony V.

      (I've in recent years done a few more missives in acrostic form to departed kin and friends. I gave a copy of this one below to Gela when Tony V. died 2 years ago.)

                          
        To Heights Divine from sullen earth you've taken flight,                            
        Off to that bourn from where no traveler returns;
        No tanks to carry, gentle friend; you're flying light...
        Yes, now you are released from all trivial concerns.

        Verbosity was ne'er your strength--you were forthright;
         I then must try to make this brief: -  For now, goodbye!
         Let me know when His splendid Mansions are in sight.
         Look out for some Blue Eagles soaring in the sky;
         Ah, surely, Orly, Bloney, Legs,* et al. are there--
         Not to pour welcome dust on you but to lead you                   
         Up to your well-deserved Castle/Aerie where                            
         Existence is eternal with a cosmic view!                         
         Victorious Septuagenarian, go claim God's boon;
         Adieu, my friend, but not for long--I'll see you soon....                         
                                  
                                    
  (Reference is made to Orlando Ruiz, Augusto Campos, and Eliseo Legaspi.)
                                     

To Bon

    (My cousin's husband, Bonfilio Foronda, recently died of a stroke. Below is a copy of my parting message to him in acrostic.)


                                       Braveheart, though this life on Earth be fleeting,
                                       Old friends long gone soon you will be meeting;
                                       Nevermore will there be need for parting,
                                       For from God's Heav'n there is no departing.
                                       If asked to give a detailed accounting,
                                       Let the record show your life was daunting;
                                       If asked what on Earth great deeds you have done,
                                       Oh, say you did love, and foes you have none.

                                       Fam'ly first--you gave your loving care to,
                                       Oft despite the heartaches flesh is heir to.
                                       Repose in peace, but continue to watch
                                       Over your loved ones;  Let not Norma catch
                                       New trials that she cannot overcome.
                                       Do pray that from His Path we may not roam,
                                       Ask God to bless us ere we too come Home.

Ben Franklin's Adage

     The United States of America, according to history books and confirmed by U.S. TV programs, was founded by freethinkers, agnostics, deists, Masonic grandmasters, probably even complete unbelievers, atheists.Yet, they were able to plant a new nation that from a mere sapling with 13 branches has now grown to a mighty tree that seemingly towers over all other nations on Earth.
     My great-grandfather had a big mango tree near his small bamboo-and-cogon hut at the foot of a hill in Bucayab, a tiny barrio where we fled to hide from the Japanese during World War II. The tree bore plenty of fruit, and we had baskets full of mangoes to share when in season. Unfortunately, the tree grew on that part of the hill that continued to incline further down to a canyon or a crevasse. Although I did not witness the event itself, I was later informed that the mango tree was toppled or uprooted to the ground by one of the several typhoons that passed through the area during the rainy season.
     While the United States looks like a very sturdy tree that has weathered many a storm, how deep and how firm indeed is its foundation? A redwood tree standing in isolation and rooted on shaky, shallow ground may be unable to withstand a hurricane's blasts, whereas a grove of bamboo trees that did bend with the blustery wind remains standing, unscathed. We ought not to lose our grip on the deep and firm foundation on which this nation was founded. While it is untrue that we are obsessed with transitory pleasures, trivialities. or other mad performances or pursuits, this seems to be the impression we have given to those who seek our country's  downfall. But a truly united United States, like the bamboo grove, can sway and bend low so to let the bad weather dissipate or pass away. While our government needs to be flexible to successfully confront unexpected challenges or crises, it ought not to fall into the trap of using borrowed money to expand itself and/or to pursue manifestly unsustainable mirages  One of our Founding Fathers counseled: "Never a borrower nor a lender be." Although he may have directed his remark to individuals, the reason behind his sage advice applies to any nation or entity that desires to be truly free. If you pay your creditor $40 out of every $100 that you earn, you are not free.
     The citizenry without a doubt is concerned, maybe even very worried that Uncle Sam owes trillions and trillions of dollars. Many proposed solutions are being discussed and/or debated by our government leaders, which is  commendable.The conservative position to the effect that government should govern within its means and avoid being a welfare state deserves serious consideration. But ultimately, in my view, the problem cannot be solved solely by legislation or federal government intervention. Individual action and initiative to choose restraint and moderation must be exercised. We, senior citizens, know it is safer to walk on level, firm, sure and stable ground rather than take that precarious downhill shortcut to...bankruptcy. Maintenance of good health and well-being should be an individual's day-to-day responsibility--like brushing one's teeth, a habit. And perhaps those highly paid government officials, especially those who are already personally wealthy or well-to-do, could voluntarily offer to reduce the deficit with part of their pay or donate more of their bounty to their favorite charities (other than themselves.) The amount may be insignificant. It is the gesture, the overt demonstration of concern, that counts. A final reminder: - Too many cooks spoil the broth.  Too many advisers--same result.

Where God Is

     I am fascinated by recent scientific findings/theories pertaining to the subatomic world. We now know that the atom is not indivisible. It is usually depicted like a minute solar system with electrons swinging or rotating around a proton. Imagine a proton to be the size of an egg and its electrons would be revolving around  about 2 or 3 miles away from it. Even the proton itself is not indivisible. It can be smashed into smaller smithereens (gluons, quarks, leptons, etc.) by man-made particle colliders. Thus, scientists agree the material world, everything solid, palpable we see around us is mostly empty space. But I think the situation described above could be the very refutation to Mr. Dawkins' argument that God cannot be Transcendent and Immanent at the same time. The Creator is necessarily apart from His creation, yet He is Omnipresent even in that supposedly mostly empty space of the subatomic world conceded by scientists. Undoubtedly, I am not God, but I can confidently state that God is in me.  And also in you.

Ritorna Vincitor

     I sometimes wonder why the Devil even took the trouble to tempt Jesus with all the kingdoms and countless treasures of the material world. Probably, since Christ was in human form, Satan did not know he was trying to tempt the very Being who created him....
     We are also tempted at every turn and almost at every waking moment of our lives by that Master Enticer whose singular obsession is apparently to recruit rebellious souls to his side. Oftentimes, we rush to follow his crooked path, then we stumble and slide and soon realize we are on a precipice to oblivion.
     There is only one way to escape falling into that abyss.  Who promised to be with us for the rest of our lives? The Saviour... And He is not light years away from us.He is at the very portals of our inmost selves, waiting for us to call Him into our hearts and souls We are all sinners.  Let us not forget that escape-clause: -  RETURN TO CHRIST!