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!