Of Debts and Depths

The one thing I learned from those who came before me
Is to avoid debts as debts can be
A force powerful enough to suck you to its complications
such that the depths of the debt can hurt
the most innocent bone, neuron and even flesh.

I wish to stay away
for if lessons are not learned,
at least by someone like me,
what good will the troubles be
of those who came before me?

But now I see myself
in the depths of the debt I tried to stay away from
as if it were haunting me...
It's a viscous cycle, you see?

I only wish I could break free.
I only wish I could break free.

Half-Naked Man Lay Half-Dead in Xavierville. So what.

The man was naked from the waist up. Thank god for the clothing from the waist down! He rested along the gutter, his legs clutched his bicycle. Well, I suppose it was his bike. He barely moved--or should I say he did not move. For a minute I thought he was dead.

I wonder if anyone else saw him other than me. Because nobody made a fuss out of the sight of a man lying almost lifeless along Xavierville Avenue at around 9 p.m.

I asked the lady nearby, "ate, wala bang tanod o pulis dito? ...kasi, o, baka dead na siya (pointing to the man)".

My expression of concern ended there.

A disturbing thought. You can drop dead along this avenue and no one would care. Yay!

Two Moms, One Morning

Last week, the Philippines mourned the loss of one of its most loved mothers. An icon, a revered proponent of democracy. Former President Cory Aquino.

The morning after her death, the view outside, from room 1116, where I spent midnight onwards showed me this...



But inside the said room and in the midst of the fuss about Tita Cory's passing, I was having my share of what I would call "mom scare." Unlike the Aquino's I am not ready to lose my mom just yet. Well, I am not ready to lose anyone again for that matter.



I wish I could command the universe when I say that mommy's gonna be fine. I wish. After all, I love my mom. And she need not be sick for me to realize it.