The Playing Field

                   The Democrats' obsession  of providing a 'level' playing field
 for the citizenry is an illusory will-o-the-wisp. All men are created with
 imperishable souls, but no man is really 'equal' to any other individual.
 People have different ancestors, familiy ties, different upbringing, different
 cultural backgrounds, skills, inclinations, financial and educational or
 intellectual levels, biases, predelictions, even illnesses and destinies.
 Obviously, a baby born in Africa can hardly be said to be 'equal' to one
 born in America.  From birth, each of us is provided with an
 'unlevel' playing field. It is up to the individual to confront and
 surmount the obstacles in his course. If we play well and hard and cleanly,
 we may also race past life's challenges and hazards--
 and rise to eminence....      Isn't that so, Mr. President?
           

IMMORTALITY

                       I am a tiny point of energy
                      Made into this material human form;
                      My purpose is to work in synergy
                      Overtly with The Teacher to transform,
                      Renew, enlighten, and revitalize
                      The human race so that it may acquire
                      A clearer perspective, and realize
                      Life is not transient, but He would require
                      Intensive spiritual preparation...
                      Truth will prevail, so fear not oblivion;
                      You and I will have His benediction.

Hold Your Temper

                  How many times have you felt like killing,
                  Or wielding your knife to see red blood spilling
                  Like a torrent from a gaping sewer?
                  Did you ever break your fists in anger?
                  You know even Death gives you a 'close' call
                  Oft when your fury leads to a pitfall.
                  Unchecked, your ire will sooner or later
                  Reward you with a burden much greater
                  Than just regret;  You will be scarified,
                  Even when you think you were justified.
                  Most wrongs against you can be rectified
                  Peaceably and more swiftly than plucking
                 'Eye for an eye', a practice most shocking.
                 Revenge though sweet, Remorse will come knocking...

                              (Lest this be misunderstood, above advice
                               is directed to myself.)
              
                

The Holy Grail

                      There are many stories about the Grail;
                      However, without factual foundation
                      Every account seems like a fairy tale.
                      How did a chalice turn into a cup
                      Of ordinary wood?  When will we stop
                      Looking for a new interpretation?
                     You recall the 'Da Vinci' variation?
                     Galahad's vision was evanescent,
                     Rossetti's painting is magnificent...
                     A cup or chalice, where is it hiding?
                     I say-- wherever God's Love is present.
                     Look within you.  It is there abiding!
                          
                  

BUCAYAB

                       Behold the barren hills framed by a newborn day,
                       Unveiled by a fast-rising tropic sun...
                       Could that small virgin valley where we used to play
                       At least remain as lush and green as yesterday?
                       You weep....  You know Bucayab is long gone;
                       A cloud of dust and smoke pollutes the air,
                       Bold motorists now own the thoroughfare...

BEAUTIFUL

                       
                      Be not unkind to that tiny spider,
                      Eight-legged ugly bug-eating wonder;
                      At dawn he starts weaving his fragile snare,
                      Unwary gnats and mosquitoes beware...
                      That sticky web is more than just a trap;
                      It reminds me of a galactic map,
                      For it catches both dew and morning light,
                      Uncov'ring rainbow colors to my sight.
                      Look, it is an astronomer's delight!

STUPIDITY

                       Supposedly an old tenet requires
                       The killing of a daughter who attires
                       Unashamedly in Western-style clothing.
                       Pronouncing her an object of loathing,
                       It then destroys two lives;  What an outrage:-
                       Death and damnation!  In this day and age,
                       I can't believe such a belief exists;
                      There is a God of Mercy, He subsists!
                      You shall not kill, the Holy Book insists.

PNOY AQUINO

                     Pray, countrymen, that this new regime will succeed,
                     Not only in ending thievery, corruption
                     Or 'wang wang' abuse, but also corporate greed.
                     Your patience, courage, and kind cooperation
                     Are indubitably desired and requested.
                     Quijotic charges against the 'pirates' will be
                     Useless unless all the 'big wigs' are convicted;
                     In lieu of bribery, let's all try honesty.
                     NoyP, your leadership will surely be tested...
                     Onward and Godspeed--to Peace and Prosperity!

The Virgin Mary's Assumption Revisited

          This being the month when the Assumption of the Virgin Mary took place in Ephesus,  I decided to take one more look at the traditional background of the event just to check if my earlier conclusions/findings were wrong.  It appears that when the people who went to check the cavern or tomb where Mary's deceased body was placed, they found only the shroud but no body.  They did not actually see Mary 'ascend' body and soul up into Heaven.  They just supposed that she did 'ascend' body and soul because they found no body there.   Finally, when the Pope declared as dogma Mary's Assumption, repeat, Assumption into Heaven, he did not say 'ascend', but rather 'assumed' body and soul to Heaven. One can be assumed into Heaven without having to ascend or rise up like a baloon to Heaven.  In my view, the Assumption 'body' and soul of the Virgin Mary can only refer to a non-physical or 'transfigured' body which would not require the normal necessities of a normal human body, like food, oxygen, water, etc., otherwise where would such a physical body be in God's spiritual domain? And where in Heaven would the Virgin Mary go for her other normal human body necessities?
Oftentimes, we encounter seemingly improbable stories that on the surface appear absurd.  Rather than rejecting them outright as pure fantastic tall tales, let us give the witness/es what we usually term "poetic license", for human speech can never fully nor truly describe events wrought by the 'hand of God'.  By way of a final concession, always there seems to be an exception to any rule. Hidden in the midst of the common herd, a unique specimen may for a time remain unnoticed. Then all of a sudden something miraculous happens.  Incredible, hard to believe, but undeniably true!
          For instance, the law of gravity applies to all material/physical beings or things.  All right, I was mistaken.  Our Beloved, the Virgin Mary is The Exception!

PROVIDENCE

                    Poor Planet Earth is not that poor at all,
                    Rejuvenating her must be global;
                    Our climate change is a form of healing,
                    Virtually all earthquakes we are feeling
                    Involve tectonic plates that are shifting.
                    Do pray a rebirth would be uplifting.
                    Extinction has occurred and may again,
                    New life-forms our Planet Earth may regain...
                    Can you see some hope for the human race?
                    Eureka!  We bear our Creator's 'Face'!

INJUSTICE

                   If a fundraising fee can cost
                  Nearly forty-thousand a plate,
                  Just what does this fact demonstrate?
                  Unknowingly, that some have lost
                  Somehow their empathy to hear
                  The people groan:- " Be moderate!"
                  Instead, they spend on without fear.
                  Could you believe..?  One dinner plate
                  Equals my income for a year!

MULTIVERSE

                 Most scientists suspect a multiverse exists;
                 Uncovering more proof is obviously needed.
                 Let me then be bold and remind cosmologists
                 That there are indeed many mansions provided,
                 In the words of Jesus Christ, "at His Father's Place."
                 Visionaries, mystics, and prophets have long sought
                 Elysium that neither Time nor Death can deface...
                 Rejoice, for we shall soon behold what God has wrought;
                 Souls released from space-time barriers can always
                 Explore the Lord's Multiverse at the speed of thought.

THEOLOGY

                'Time did not exist before the Big Bang;
                 Hence, there was no time for God to create.
                 Ergo, no need for God, just yin and yang,
                 Only forces natural and innate.'*
                 Lest you be swayed by Hawking's reasoning,
                 Ontology and logic must dispute
                 Godless multiverses out of Nothing.
                 You need a First Cause, that you can't refute.



                                     (*A restatement or rephrasing of Stephen Hawking's position.)

COMPASSION

                    Could you not see me as you pass me by?
                    Oh, I sense what you're thinking:- "Don't come near
                    Me, Stinky Bum! Go somewhere else, goodbye!"
                    Pardon me, sir;  Perhaps, I did miss it.
                    A kind word I thought I could get from here;
                    Sorry, I have to cut short my visit,
                    Since Compassion dwells not in you, I fear.
                    I carried the cross for the Nazarene,
                    On long roads I still travel, far and near...
                    No, never did the Christ call me 'Unclean'.

GRATITUDE

           God gave you life on Earth to serve and strive,
           Receive His blessings and His bounty too,
           As well as special gifts so you may thrive.
           Trials and temptations will confront you...
            In time, Death will call you to his embrace;
            Tribulations that beset you will be gone.
           Up there, you will see the Lord face to face...
           Death will then let you know what you have won:-
          "Eternal bliss--yours by God's Divine Grace!"

GULLIBILITY

                  God gave us our common sense to use
                  Unsparingly, yet many refuse,
                  Locked in their dark brainwashed world of hate,
                  Loath to learn and to investigate
                  If true that our towers are evil...
                  But where in the world dwells the Devil?
                  In fact, his minions are everywhere.
                  Look first within yourself, if you dare...
                  I also to a jihad must go;
                 There are fences to repair, I know.
                 Yes, my wayward self is my own foe.
          

PERSPECTIVES

                    Poring over a neophyte's thesis
                    Exhaustively, exhaustingly;
                    Reading scientific hypotheses,
                    Surprisingly critically;
                    Perusing Keats' poetic passages
                    Exultantly yet enviously;
                    Crawling and evolving through the ages
                    Tortuously, tentatively;
                     Imagining my soul's place in Heaven
                    Vast; but in my mind, quite vaguely.
                    Expecting my faults will be forgiven--
                    Shamefully, but frankly--SURELY!
                

SUCCESS

             Seek injustices to redress;
             Under no circumstance, oppress.
             Conquer Greed, Pride, and Prejudice,
             Cast false gods down the precipice.
             Emulate Jesus Christ and do
             Shun Satan's snares;  try to rescue
             Stray sheep, for that is God's work too.