The midnight snack prepared and waiting for the family to come home after mass at our housing village, I had time browsing through poems written by kin and friends, and found them good bread for the journey through 2014.
Below is my sister-in-law’s poem, “Happiness, in the Balance.â€
Happiness, in the Balance
By Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas
Mid-afternoon, my old watch stopped,

Long autumn and
the flame maple leaves still

Mostly green; ginkgo gold,
that most ancient

Of trees, leaves strewn prodigally.
Ah, golden
Light, mother and daughter
and I all in one house,

Reading or writing in leaf-dappled rooms:

Daughter’s childhood bedroom turned
Into a study; the shadows
of leaves echoing
My childhood — a study
that became my bedroom,
Later, my own baby’s crib
in sunshine. Circle on,
Shadow of light, bare boles, blue

Skies of now, yesterday, always, never…
The leaf will never leave
the branch, the pages
Turn, words on mere paper stir,
hold forever.
My educator friend, and former dean of the UP College of Education, Lily Rosqueta-Rosales, gave me a lovely Christmas present — a book of poems she has compiled over the years as a gift for her 14 grandchildren. The poems, she writes in the foreword of the collection entitled “Sunlight and Raindrops,†are “expressions of my heart, of my sentiments and emotions, and are an outreaching of my thoughts and soul. They represent my consciousness of the past — a memorial to God’s creations, the immaterial nature of man, loves lost and gained, pedagogy, and guidance.â€
The first poem, “Stay Away,†was written in Los Baños in 1948, and was first printed under the pen name Aling Isang. She must have tried to fend off the romantic gestures of a suitor, who years later became her loving husband. “Whisper Through the Wind†was written in Colorado in 1959, and “It’s Nature’s Way†is of recent vintage.
Stay Away
By Lily Rosqueta -Rosales
I feel the pulse
Of the beating of your heart
I hear your whisper
Of overflowing love.
But the day is too young
Light and darkness will soon come
Yes, stay away at a distance
Give reason many a chance.
In the dawn of our youth
There’s still more of the thought
Yes, stay away from me
I’m so young, you see.
Whisper Through the Wind
By Lily Rosqueta-Rosales
When I behold those daffodils
Dancing yellow with the breeze
My eyes gaze far into the hills
Where stately stand a thousand trees.
Spring has come again
Tapping at my window pane
I dream, I think of you
But this, you do not know.
Dear Daffodils, yonder stately trees
If you can feel my secret heart
Look for him, my love to bring
Send my whisper through the wind.
It’s Nature’s way
By Lily Rosqueta-Rosales
I hear the sound of raindrops
Then see them falling on the bend
They’ll soon bathe the wilting crops
In that little backyard garden.
I look out far from my window
Aware of sunlight through the trees
I see the majesty of a rainbow
As birds fly by, chirping in bliss.
It’s nature’s way, raindrops,
sunlight, rainbow
Tears, smiles, then
promises of tomorrow
Wait in patience, the days will bring
The blessings of love
to you, my King.
The following poem by Mary L. Fraser, was printed in Weavings, a journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, Volume XXV, Number 1.
The Shepherd Speaks
By Mary L. Fraser
You are the sleeping, newly,
Fresh, your breath a gentle sigh
I find you after a journey
So long, long with remarkable stars
And midnight hymns.
Angels descending with Angels
Their voices, stillness, sing joy.
The walk here broke my feet
and my heart,
Snapped the traps that tied me to a life
I was no longer living,
That did not hold me, freed me
From the relentless, empty question
Of whether there was a You,
And so, whether there was a me.
How can we live without
someone seeing us?
No, it is not possible. My eyes are wide,
And your gaze, infinite.
TONIGHT I find home,
in this scent of wild
Arrivals: precious you,
the mother and father,
The obliging animals, the friend
who came with me,
Bundled against the wooden trough
Watching you breathe, soft, ordinary.
In this finding, this
unexpected advent, I am
Over-awed – overflowing –
ever-loved and
Committed to you, now born with you.
While I do not appear again
in your story,
I am the beginning of everyone’s story
Who loves you, who seeks you,
who finds you.
I am the friend of your mother,
The witness of your father,
The first voice of the widening circle.
I am the shepherd who left his flocks
In the deepest night, for one
remarkable quest,
Chosen for an extraordinary task,
To see you, to be seen,
Invited to know how your breath
Lifts quietly from your chest
Holding all the world,
holding all my world.
Your breath, like my breath,
Your breath, God’s breath,
Swaddling me with ancient hope,
That I carry with me from the barn
Into fields of sweet loam,
Into the heart of the seeker,
Into the mind of one sought.
The Internet and mobile phone have brought us many messages and poems about welcoming a new, brighter, more prosperous New Year. A friend emailed me this forwarded poem by Charles L. H. Wagner that tells us to not dwell on our past mistakes, and to go forward, with bold hearts.
Let’s Forget
Charles H. L. Wagner
Let’s forget the many troubles
That the year now gone has brought;
Let’s forget its pain and sorrow;
Let’s forget our burdened lot;
Let new hope and courage cheer us;
Sunshine always follows rain;
There’s a challenge in the Future;
Men are needed now, again!
Let’s forget deflated values;
Money is no gauge of souls;
Let’s forget restricted markets;
Profit lies in higher goals;
Serve in love some weaker brother;
There’s so many need your smile;
Make the whole year bright for others,
Then your life will be worthwhile.
Let’s forget distrust and hatred;
War from fear is oft aborning;
Let’s forget our narrow bondings;
Work for peace and greet its dawning;
Let’s forget the self that’s held us
In our petty, cabined state;
Let us meet our challenge boldly
And in meeting it be great.
Have a Great New Year!
Email: dominitorrevillas@gmail.com