SERENATA

         Some old songs from the past still haunt my reverie,
         Enchanting lullabies my mother sang to me.
         Rocking my cradle, she sang in our native tongue;
         Etched in my mem'ry, oh how sweetly she had sung:-
       "No Lilith can steal or touch you, my little one;"
       "An angel and I will guard you, so slumber on..."
       "Today and tomorrow 'dungwen ka un-unay!'"*
       "Always I will care for you till the day I die...."



                                            *(Ilocano translation: 'feeling extremely fond of you')

SANCTITY

          Sundays:- In Sunday clothes you go to church;
          At home, your sceptre is a rod of birch.
          Notice those old people at the cross-walk?
         "Certainly not!  If they approach, I'll balk;
         "Touch not those unwashed, there could be danger."
         "I never talk with a complete stranger..."

          Think not you are a Christian then, my friend.
          Your heart and hand to all, learn to extend...
    

HUBRIS

             How did Lucifer fall from Heaven and God's grace?
             Ungracefully;  Banished to that bottomless place...
             Blest with beauty, powers, and gifts in abundance,
             Ruined by his own overweening arrogance;
             I, despite all my frailties, am the favored one,
             So step aside, Mephistopheles, and begone!

HUMILITY

       Hide not the silver in your hair; I fear
       Undue concern with your mere exterior
       May later reveal a bare interior...
       In old age, we will find beauty there, dear.
       Let twilight come; you'll be my Evening Star...
       If springtime and once youthful looks must go,
       Then your soul within will much brighter glow.
       You are quite lovely, dear, just as you are!
      

PERSEVERANCE

       Pursue the gold,
       Endure the pain;
       Rest not, be bold,
       Scoff at the strain;
       Ev'ry step brings
       Vict'ry's embrace.
       E'en without wings
       Rise, run Life's race--
       A marathon....
       Now, see the Gate!
       Come Home, you've won,
       Expatriate!

HUMANITY

     Here on shaky ground the whole world now stands:-
     Ugly idols rule men's hearts and passions;
     Many souls have joined Mammon's killing bands,
     Anti-Christian jihadists' obsessions
     Now infect youthful minds in many lands.
     Is peace achievable by spilling blood?
     Turn killing hands to healing, serving hands;
     You and I are living temples of God!

PREMONITIONS

       Preparing to leap across a crevasse?
       Relax;  First, take a sip of demitasse,
       Exhale all those doubts, stop stomach spasms.
       Mind over matter--over all chasms.
       Of course, there are pits for things of loathing;
       Not to worry, holes are mostly nothing...
       I'm an old bird, so I can fly across
       That deep divide, or even soar--Who knows?
      "I do know," whispers my Premonition;
      "Old fool, hearken to my admonition."
      "No man alive can escape gravity,"
      "So treat not my alarms with levity!"