Re-writing

 It's been decades since I last wrote poetry. But in a recent flash of inspiration, I found myself brain-dumping a few haikus.

Reunited

 Some passions never die; they just go dormant for a decade and a half.

Graduation Day

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, life as we know it has all but ground to a halt. At times like these, it helps to revisit our knowledge of "life" itself.

Not a fable

Dear Ysak,

Today, you turn 11. It has been a long while since I last wrote to you. Perhaps it was because I had been too busy making a living for our family. Maybe my job has taken all the creative ideas out of me. But I prefer to think that I had instead chosen to tell you my messages in person, rather than writing them down for you to read when you get older.

You are older now. And so, today, I will not write to you in fables, as I had before. Instead I will tell you up front, just how proud I am of the boy you have become.

When you were a little boy, I told you about the story of Isaac, after whom you were named. I told you how your Mama and I have sworn to raise you to be our offering to God. “The person you will be is our gift to Him,” we said. As we look at you today, we are nothing less than pleased. You have grown to be a kind-hearted young man, always thinking about the welfare of others, even people you don’t even know. You have learned to dream, appreciating your God-given talents and aspiring to hone them as much as you can. You have grown to be a loving son, grandson, nephew, and friend. Most of all, you have shown yourself to be a child of God, using His teachings as your guide in daily life.

In a few years, or even months, from now, you will come of age. When that time comes, your Mama and I will no longer be able to cuddle you the way we used to. It will no longer be right for us to treat you like a little boy. It will be hard for us to accept that you have grown. So, if and when we forget, please do forgive us. Because that’s what parents do: they look at their grownup kids and they see the same little boys or little girls that they cuddled in their arms many years ago.

Today, life begins to open up for you. Like a mariner stepping into his ship’s bridge for the first time, you will soon begin to look into the horizon, knowing that you have the power to decide which course to take. My dear Ysak, that horizon is all yours! Go as far as your dreams can go, with God as your navigator. You will never need to look behind you, because you know that your Mama and I will always, ALWAYS be right there with you.

Reminiscing

Can you recall a time in your past, when life was more complicated than it is today? I can't; whenever I look back, life always seemed to be simpler before.

I try to figure out why. My life--like yours, I'm sure--has gone through many cycles of ups and downs. Surely, I'm bound to find myself at a moment where life seems to be simpler at the present than it was in the past. And yet, this never ever seems to be the case.

I guess the answer is this: as we weather every storm in life and come out more mature, we ultimately come to the realization that every trial always looks worse than it actually is. This is why the past always looks rosier than the present.

So rather than reminiscing with despair in the thought that life was so much better in the past, perhaps we would be better off reminiscing with gratitude and hope. If there's one thing that the past can teach us, it's this: life today is always as simple as it will look tomorrow.