Line's Memoirs

They say my poems are not gentle

They are bladed weapon that hunts the oppressive soul

Oh they say why not just be complacent

How can I, when complacency kills you silently

Why so be involved when you can choose a quiet life

To them I say this nation has been  muted for decades

When those with “little power” has nothing to do but follow

Don’t underestimate the power of many

Against  the enemy

That tends to poison us

They use the veerus to control us

They treat us like robots that can be controlled by remote

Who ‘s gonna feed our hungry stomach

When they closed the markets where  we sell our goods

When they closed the shop that we service and do our massage

The streets are empty,

Everybody home

Will a town still exist when no one is moving there.

They say the virus will make you lose your appetite

How can we lose our appetite when our senses are like radars

hunting for food

Our stomach knows no religion, nor politics

Go to the slums and see what so cial dis tan cing   means

Tell Itsong in to observe ptotocols

He’d rather play tong-its to forget where to get the next meal

Even the prostituted women wrote to the mayor

We lose our livelihood they say.

And tell them not to speak?

They say we will lose our sense of smell

How can I lose it when I have to haunt for food

Like the cats would struggle for food.

So my poems are not gentle

Because it paints the weary soul.

I lost my Mom this year due to chronic pneumonia. I wrote this before when she is still alive and this poem resonates more now that she is in a better place.

If I Had to Write One Verse

If I had to write the sweetest poems

A song which has a great refrain

All that I am, all that I could be

And all that I will ever be

Her rhythm is written in the yearnings of my soul

Her smile the sun of the brightest star

Her belly is the labyrinth of the ocean

Where life flows,

Where life solely beats

If I have to write one line,

One Verse –

Mother.

I was into haiku writing especially during the lockdown. In the place I am now, we are in a General Community Quarantine as of the moment.

Let me share my haiku during the times when things were uncertain and people are not moving that much.

Eight o’clock, siren sounds

As people hurried home quick

 Turning a ghost town

Forty days lockdown-

Turned me a hungry zombie

Sun envelope me.

I devour your presence

I am Infected with the veerus

This love pandemic

Am one PUI

Your Infection is fatal

This Love pandemic

Social distancing would not be difficult if you have a place like this one in San Remegio, Antique, Philippines.

I had the chance to experience the beauty and the majestic landscape  of the Highland of Aningalan in San Remegio, Antique, prior to the lock down due to NCOV.  My last fieldwork before the city of Iloilo was declared under the order of Community Quarantine and later Enhanced Community Quarantine.  Dubbed as the Summer Capital of Panay in Western Visayas.  The travel is worth it.  My companion who is a locale of Brgy. Aningalan rode in a jeep which used to be a mini bus to this tourist attraction.

 

I tasted the native coffee at Aningalan Highglands served with fresh Mushroom burgers.  When one is atop this restaurant, one can have a good view of the moutains and the sunset.

 

There are a lot of tourist attractions to be explored in this gtown such as the Aningalan Highlands, Strawberry Farm, and also this is where you cold find the biggest flower named Rafessia.   Raffessia can be found only in San Remegio, Barbaza, Culasi, Valderrama and Sibalom, Antique.  The temperature was cool and it is becoming a tourist attraction.

The travel was short lived as it is part of my work.  I went back to Sibalom, Antique via a rented motorcycle.  Then rode a jeep to go back straight to San Jose, Antique, the capital town of Antique.  About 31 kilometers from Sibalom, Antique.

An alternate route is through Aklan via Ceres bus with the signboard San Jose Antique. You may drop by Sibalom, Antique and ride the San Remegio jeep.  Take note that there is only two trips of jeeps scheduled at 6 am and 1 PM.  There are more jeep coming from San Jose, the capital town of Antique.

Next time will be a planned trip for me and my friends.  When you experience home quarantine for the first time, you will never take for granted the simplicity of life and the joys of travel/

 

 

 

 

 

 

The challenge today is to write 20 random facts about myself.

1.  I am pesco-vegetarian since 2007
2. I have a dog named Spotify
3. I love to eat bitter gourd
4. I love writing poetry
5. I am a book lover and the first book that touched me most was El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal
6. My name is a combi of my Dad and my Mom’s name
7. I study well in a garden
8. I am detail oriented
9. My favorite subject in elementary is Math
10. I love gardening so much

11.  I love dancing since childhood

12.  My favorite male perfume is musk

13.  I was a muse of our library club in primary school

14.  I love crafts and personalized cards

15.  I am a hopeless romantic

16.  The first country I visited was Malaysia

17.  I have worked in a migrant non government organization run by the Good Shepherd Sisters

18.  My dream in college is to visit around the Philippines more than going abroad

19.  I thrive on chaos

20.  I love self help books

 

 

It was tough doing this challenge.  Why don’t you do this yourself too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I was curious how does the island look now that it has been rehabilitated.  Luckily my friends got to see each other.  you see, we have a hard time seeing each other in Manila as when I am there it is mostly business and surprisingly, we met in Boracay.

Being in Aklanon, I did not have a hard time entering the island as I thought it would be considering the restrictions of the government.  I just presented my Voters ID indicating that I am a native and a voter in fact.

 

The most noticeable portion is there is not much congestion compared to my last visit in May of 2017.  Now, I can have more breathing space.  I got to basked in the sand without that difficulty in getting space because no more reclining chairs in the beach front.

 

Not much partying at night, though there is still bar music.  How I wish Boracay would maintain its less traffic considering the devastations that it incurred due to high volume of tourist entering the island.  With the limited carrying capacity that the island could have, it is just proper to regulate the establishments and the volume of tourists to be able to preserve it for the future generations and for sustainable tourism.

 

The next morning, had some swim, but it was more enjoyable, as no much competition in terms of space.  The water is still crystal clear but the sand I think is still smooth but not as white as I used to imagine it.

 

I do not want to touch much on politics for this entry and I would say that I enjoyed my stay there albeit short.  Anyway, Boracay is just an hour bus ride away from our place.

 

 

Sometimes it takes an unplanned meeting and it turned out the best for us.  When the universe just conspires to be in one place.