Live, Die...then Live Again

Life is a journey, a struggle
And a quest for meaning and purpose
Ever flowing like a river
Always moving forward
Like time
That keeps the journal
Of the ticks and moments
Of my happiness and pains

While life moves on
Death makes a countdown of his own
He awaits
Like a sea of barren sand
Waiting patiently
Like an irresistible destiny

Then death he comes
He steals my body
And sets my spirit free...

My body is now a fritter
Who wants to find its place
Not in a gallow, not in a grave
But in a garden
Where it can take its rest.

Burning the body could not bring
The spirit to ashes
For in time, the spirit will come
To find a brand new psyche
And he will thrive again.

When I die
I'd like to be cremated
With my ashes poured
On top of a mountain
Overlooking the sea.

I'd like to live again as a wildflower
Staring at the ocean
Bathing the sunlight
Feeling the frozen moonbeams
And dancing with the silent music
Of the mountain breeze
Day after day, night after night
Till all my days have gone.

And I will bring forth seeds
That I will grow to keep me company.

Together we will produce
A carpet of flowers
To make this part of the mountain
A natural eternal garden
Bringing beauty, life and color
To the world that was
The Inspiration of my soul

And I shall live forever.

Humor - Memory

It was a fine Sunday morning. As usual a church service was held by our congregation headed by our middle-aged minister.

The subject of the day’s evangelical homily was love.

The members listened in complete admiration as the minister so eloquently delivered his speech about God’s love for us and the world, quoting verses from the bible every now and then, sometimes mentioning extra-ordinary side stories of human love and what love can do to make this world a better place to live in.

Everyone listened in silence and awe to the minister’s very impressive piece, but not until he delivered his conclusive line: “and now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. “This is taken from the book of Corinthians chapter…err, I forgot” (rolling his eyes upward trying to recall desperately to no avail).

After about 15 seconds of eyeball-rolling, the minister finally spoke: “Dear brothers and sisters, I must be getting old; I’m losing my remembrance”. (He really lost it because the right term was supposed to be “memory”, but he lost it).

The sermon suddenly transformed from pensive to festive mood. Everyone was happy, including our minister who was so amused with himself.

MANNY PACQUIAO VS MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA II - A Review

October 7, 2007 (Pacific Standard Time)
The much-awaited rematch between world featherweight icons Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Marco Antonio “the baby-faced assassin” Barrera in Mandala Bay, Las Vegas, USA has just been concluded, and as has been anticipated, the Pacman emerged to win after 12 rounds of action.

During the early pre-fight surveys, the Pacman was the undisputed favorite because of his youth, power, speed and courage to take on anyone in the boxing ring. The Pacman had literally wiped out his last 3 opponents before this fight, namely Larius Marquez and Solis, all Mexicans.

Barrera on the other hand, trained harder in order to redeem his 11th round TKO loss to the Pacman some months back. This and the loss of the other Mexicans in the hands of the Pacman is the fuel that fires him up to aspire vengeance against the Filipino boxing icon.

Many boxing analysts predicted a Pacquiao victory. A majority even predicted that the match would end within the distance of 6 rounds.

But Barrera could not be taken lightly as this fight will be his gateway to the fold of retirement. He must leave some kind of signature as this will be his last fight.

Come fight night, both boxers looked prepared and in good condition. The Pacman looked at par with Barrera in size unlike the previous fight where Barrera was a bit bigger than him.

Both fighters danced in the ring round after round with a few hits here and there as Pacquiao closed in on Barrera in attempt to corner the latter. But Barrera, being the intelligent veteran fighter that he is, is not easy to give Pacquiao what he wanted, he knew that Pacquiao could take him out of the ring in just one punch. Giving Pacquiao the “catch me if you can”fighting style in order not to get entangled with the thundering blows of the Pacman Barrera kept on back-pedaling all throughout the fight, leaving a few unimpressive counterpunches every now and then which didn’t even bother the Pacman. Despite being the defending champion , Pacquiao was the aggressor in the entirety of the fight.

Barrera almost went down in the 11th round when Pacquiao caught him with a vicious left hook.

Barrera is a good boxer and counter puncher with tremendous hand speed. He executes his jabs and hooks perfectly. But these are not enough to counter the power that Pacquiao is gifted with. Barrera is also lacking in lateral footwork that could have disrupted Pacquiao’s strategy. Pacquiao literally dominated 10 of the 12 rounds they had in the ring. Only rounds 2 and 3 belonged to Barrera.

The fight was good in the sense that no fighter was hurt in the course of the duel, but looking at the audience, they were not as fulfilled, not as thrilled and not as excited as the first encounter because the bout looked more of a dance showdown than a boxing competition. But in fairness, we can’t blame the fighters for being cautious, after all, it’s their lives which are put at stake.

Pacquiao undoubtedly won the fight by a sweep. Congratulations to all Filipinos. They are all relatives of the Pacman now …

Click for More at Philboxing.com

THE MOON

Majestic and seemingly delicate
Drifting in the heavens’ realm
She shows
Serene above the clouds
Staring coldly at the world

Suspended in time and space
Timid, passive and quiet
She smiles
In melancholic silence
And the night awoke!

Looking at her
In mesmerizing glory
The chilling beauty
Of a face so lovely
She floats
In the heavens’ grandeur
Her frosted radiance
Conquering my soul

Ah! Pretty moonlight
Desolate yet so inspiring
So bright and yet so cold
So near and yet so far
From me
You are a world apart
Inspire my lonely heart …

THE RAIN

Rain gently falls like teardrops from heaven wanting to cleanse the earth with her comforting touch mixing with the breeze, her rhythm whispering to the trees, asking for a dance.

Rain is a cool treat on lazy afternoons in the meadows. The downpour decrees silence as every creature scampers for shelter with the coming rainfall. Then after a while, everyone welcomes the refreshing shower as the sun comes up to meet the powdery drizzle that forms a bridge of many colors across the sky. And the birds sing in baffling choruses.

I love the rain. It reminds me of a wishful childhood, a beautiful carefree world where nature was as close as the air I breathed.

The rain brings me back pleasant memories of peace and innocence, and memories of youth and true love which are sure to unfold every time I look at the rain from the window. The screen in my mind always makes me happy and nostalgic about the past that I wish to re-live. I miss the birds, the trees, the grasses, the flowers and the smell of the breeze that were once part of my rainy sight.

I loved to see the peace in every creature sheltering by the trees as the rain was falling. I loved the rhythm of the diminishing rain falling above the leaves for it gave me a poetic melancholic feeling I can not understand. I loved the touch of the dewdrops on the leaves falling upon me as I passed by walking in amazement to the joy and beauty of the world around me.

I love the rain. It sets my spirit free.