"Oh God, there's no mistake!" (Story of the Duhat and Pakwan)

The Java Plum and the Watermelon
"I dreamt I asked God something trivial -
Why so small are the duhat fruits;
And the watermelon, frail and crawling,
Bears the biggest fruit on earth."

Dr Abe V Rotor

                 

Duhat or Java Plum (Syzygium cumini), Family Myrtaceae; and

pakwan or watermelon (Citrulus vulgaris), Family Cruciferae

Wearily I walked one summer day,
The sky was as the sea is blue.
And thought, “Water must be nearby.”
And so I walked on to where it lay –

A hill rose, a tree stood untold,
Old were its branches but full;
By measure of my thirst and hunger,
Its fruits were the sweetest of all.

With bare hands I cupped the manna,
And feasted on it with no choice,
Then laid down under the tree’s shade
Yearning still for a greater fill.

Thus I searched beyond for more gifts;
And on a crawling vine did appear
Big, big fruits, but bigger was my lust,
And I had my fill at last.

“A full stomach makes the head light,”
My father used to tell me then,
“From thoughts to dreams they go wild,
Seeking for other dreams.”

I dreamt I asked God something trivial -
Why so small are the duhat fruits;
And the watermelon, frail and crawling,
Bears the biggest fruit on earth.

“There must be some mistake,” I said
And waited for any response.
“There must be reason in faith,” I implored.
But only silence that I heard.

All of a sudden I woke up in a jolt,
A berry had fallen on my head,
Whether by Sir Newton’s law that it fell,
Or a Darwin’s finch came to tell.

I raised my hands to the sky and cried
In atonement and in praise,
“Oh God, Oh God, there’s no mistake,
There’s no mistake.” ~

2 Paintings: Secret of the Heart and Innocence in Nature

2 Paintings: 

Secret of the Heart and Innocence in Nature 

Dr Abe V Rotor

SECRET OF THE HEART

Painting in Acrylic (13.5" x 13.5")

Hidden, the heart throbs

     in deep silence;

two nails embedded,

     unseen in pretence

of living, loving, caring,

     the highest art, 

filling the five chambers

     of the heart.  

INNOCENCE IN NATURE

Painting in acrylic (17.5" x 21.75") 

Abstract over realism can you paint innocence,

     move over classics, you are too pure

to be true, and impressionism too assuming,

     with apologies to Monet's azure sky.  

Oh! abstract indeed is a child's innocence,

     buds in early spring, grains ripening;

heart of a true friend, pledge of real love,

     growing in the passing of time. 

Colors are mere symbols, wanting to behold,

     the magnificence of mind and heart,

triumph of the human spirit over our frailty,

     the most challenging of all art.~      

   

Eco-Plague

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Creeping Plague, painting in acrylic, AVR 2002

"There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings…Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change …Mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens, the cattle and chicken sickened and died …There was a strange stillness… The Few birds seen anywhere were moribund, they trembled violently and could not fly. It is a spring without voices." - Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Mourn not, every one is mourning, 
And no one comes to your care;
Creeps the devil wind screaming
And falls silent the day after. 

Lo! the land is blooming once again,
The sea calm, the birds singing;
Grows back the forest, the hills green,
Sans man, once all knowing. ~

Last Lily of Summer - Tambal Lily (Eurycles amboinensis)

Lyrics patterned after The Last Rose of Summer's versions. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

LIVING with NATURE CENTER 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

                                                        Tambal lily (Eurycles amboinensis)

The Last Lily (Rose) of Summer

Celtic Woman (Original by Thomas Moore, as shown below)

'Tis the last lily (rose) of summer left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are faded and gone
No flower of her kindred, no lilybud (rosebud) is nigh
To reflect back her blushes and give sigh for sigh

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one, to pine on the stem
Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them
Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead

So soon…

Here is the lyrics of a musical composition of The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore 

Sheet music of The Last Rose of Summer

'Tis the last (lily) rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,Or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

NOTE: I found this tambal lily growing solely on our backyard beside a mango tree in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur. I took these photos before the plant lost its flower to the first heavy rain of May 2018. There is another version of The Last Rose of Summer for the violin in three variations adapted from Friedrich von Flotow's by Henry Farmer. It is a favorite piece I play with the violin witth piano accompaniment by my Daughter Anna Christina, .

The Surreal Art of Make-Believe

The Surreal Art of Make-Believe

Dr Abe V Rotor

     A world of make-believe. Photo by Miss Iz Hilario

Oh, art, what is art, when deceived

     of reality in a living world,

when fantasy is reality conceived 

     of beauty in color and word? 

Where has the old familiar pond gone,

     willows hiding its island and shore, 

fish bubbling, splashing in the sun   

     to greet the day and sky azure?

Ask the doomed ducks and their offspring -

     of what use a pond dies for, 

the artist surreal in thoughts and being, 

     who claims to be the Creator. ~

Brood

Brood

Dr Abe V Rotor

Happy are they 
from day to day
ensconced under a roof,
the family's a proof.

Lest they forget, the seed
weaned for its need,
must draw out its best
through the Sower's test.  



Aling Sion and children, Tiaong, Quezon

Light in the Woods, Megabooks 

Photography: A Pair of White Doves - Symbol of Happy Mariage

Looking for a subject in photography? Discover the simple and meaningful.  It may just be around the corner. 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

I took this photo on the church yard of Padre Pio in Makati last year. I found these beautiful creatures picking grains most likely thrown by well wishers on the newlyweds as they emerge from the church, an old custom that survives to this day. Who owns these beautiful creatures must be living nearby. The birds look well-groomed and tame. They must have been trained for marriage occasions so that they are used to seeing and mingling with people as they perform their role as symbol of purity, bounty and peace that go with happy marriage. (Photo unedited, taken with a palm-size digital camera) ~

LEAF IMPRESSION PAINTING (Children's Painting Series 6)

There are leaves picked for the young artist’s art,

     like the shape of the heart, those of the lilies.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Art Instructor

 

Tambal lily (Eurycles amboinensis). Multiple impressions of the large

 rounded leaf by JP Reyes, 7

No two leaves are the same even in the same plant,

much more of different species and varieties;

There are leaves picked for the young artist’s art,

     like the shape of the heart, those of the lilies.

 

Lyn Reyes 9, fragmentary impression painting of the tambal lily leaf

Leaf in fragments put together on canvas is likened

to a rainbow which fell and broke apart;

                    Young artists do catch the pieces at rainbow’s end

  and make a jigsaw of a beautiful art.  

  

Compound leaf of Lanute tree (Wrightia pubescens). Impression

painting by Minhin Viernes 9,

  Why not sort out the leaves, group them as one,

         then dab with a variety of colors, of shade and hue?

     It takes patience even when everybody has gone;

       when done, look at the impression -  a lovely view. 

SUN IN THE WOODS (Children's Paintings Series 1)

SUN IN THE WOODS 

Painting by Lyn G Reyes 9, and P Reyes 7, with Art Instructor Dr Abe V Rotor 

How magnificent it is to capture the sun on canvas, or simply sketch it at sunrise and sunset, and you have captured its cycle for the day; yet you will never tire to paint or draw it again and again in your lifetime, its views never ending, never prosaic, never dull, never monotonous; whatever secret the sun has will remain a mystery - a mystery that gives life, a god to many cultures, a symbol of Omnipotence, and therefore, of reverence to a Great Almighty.  

How close can you get to the sun?  Ask the astronauts, the migratory birds, or simply its own shadow. Only artists can get the closest, feeling its warmth in colors, but  never its fire. They liken gold out of it, make it shimmer on the sea, peep between mountains, make halo for the innocents, shape it like a heart that professes the deepest expression of love. The sun never fails to rise, and when it does, its the lament of the artists. And only they can make it rise again and hang in the sky forever, affirming  it with their signatures.    
  

   

The sun is energy-to-matter converter; move over Newton and Einstein, come over Darwin and Wilson - but neither  can put together the fragments of knowledge into a solid  harmonious whole.  Come Higgs Boson, but your particle is none other than God's Particle, the prima causa of everything  in the universe. Here comes a child artist. The pen is mightier  than the sword indeed, but the paint brush is even mightier.  And how does he tell to the world of energy-to-matter?  He paints a leaf, then a tree, and finally a forest. Genius! ~      

Nature Mural with Emma

A revolutionary approach of bringing Nature into the living room sans the conventional amenities of indoor living.

Floor-to-wall murals painted by Dr Abe V Rotor

LIVING with NATURE CENTER 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

 Floor-to wall mural painting, a revolutionary approach in painting, and in bringing nature into the living room in make-believe freshness and invigorating ambiance.  Imagery composite scenery inspired by the views of the  Ilocos coast in Santa (IS), and Burgos (IN)   

 

 Home gallery, a collection of personal paintings, conventional to modern, encompassing various movements or schools of art, and integrated with the art of creative writing.  Each painting is accompanied by the artist’s views and interpretation usually in the form of poetry or short essay.  

  

 Two views: natural and man-made scapes, old brick wall restored as it was in the late 18^th century. Both views are integrated into the living room complex. The fluid appearance of the floor gives a dainty soft barefoot feeling.  .

 Emma and her Auntie, Sister Veny Rotor, pose at the gallery where art workshops for children in the locality are held with Dr Abe Rotor as instructor.    

  

“Nature restores youthfulness with a background of luxuriant green with the radiance of the sun touching the subect, yet it makes no difference to stand behind an old wall with the same expression of joy.” avr

Travelogue in Nature through Mural Paintings .

Travelogue in Nature
through Mural Paintings 
"Art is never passive, it is progressive and abreast,

to keep its role even with man's lofty goals." avr
     Mural Complex by Dr Abe V Rotor

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Annelyn Dumal-in a SPED teacher and her children Roverick John 10, and Ma 

Ellaine 6 pose before a floor-to-wall mural on nature at the author's residence in 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur..This section depicts the Ilocos uplands and 

meandering streams. 

Mother and children on a nature adventure on a mural,

respite from too much work in school;

A break from the computer and social media exposure; 

go for the arts and find a better goal.  

 Young visitors led by youthful Paul Verzosa, all art enthusiasts, 
visit the gallery room where some thirty paintings are displayed.  

A gallery of paintings, conventional and modern,

across different movements and schools;

Art is never passive, it is progressive and abreast,

to keep its role even with man's lofty goals.    

 

These adjoining murals were inspired by scenic views in the Ilocos 

region particularly in Santa, Ilocos Sur and Luna, Ilocos Norte. 

By the craggy seashore,

 behind a lighthouse in ruin, 

  history stands still,

while nature prevails sans end,

and the sands of time

keep on blowing

evermore.

  

\

 Roverick John 10, and Ma Ellaine 6 pose before a restored late 18th 

century brick wall integrated with a floor mural depicting a moat 

or trench.around a castle..

An old brick wall, a make-believe moat,

a medieval castle in mind;

ruins kept alive in postmodern times,

the past and present to bind.  

 

Dolls no more for Elaine, but what is a better substitute than to keep close to nature, rather than the cell phone, and the habit of loafing?. This is the message of these mural details.

Love the trees, lianas and vines climbing,

thick cozy mats of moss and lichen. 

bromeliads, orchids and ferns clinging, 

stir the sense of  wonder in children.  ~

TABON CAVE - FIRST HOME OF OUR ANCESTORS

Tabon Cave - First Home of Our Ancestors

Dr Abe V Rotor

Tabon Cave in acrylic based on a photograph taken in 
Quezon, Palawan

More than your name

You are my father's home,

And his resting ground;

Link of darkness and light;

Window to the universe,

Source of song and verse,

Treasured niche in space,

The cradle of my race. ~

Edmielyn G Reyes 9 and her brother John Patrick 7, proudly 

display their joint painting of man's first dwelling.  2018

A re-visit to the first human home in the past,

    these kids re-created with paintbrush; 

alive yet long abandoned save the enthusiast

and science digging into the past. ~ 

A wild orchid in our home - Cymbidium Finlaysonianum

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

 Inflorescence of C Finlaysonianum; close-up of  flower.  

Growth habit of the indigenous epiphytic orchid, and pods

It is a native orchid. I found it clinging on a fallen branch of a big tree in Mt. Makiling forest. Being an epiphyte I tied it on the trunk of a talisay (Terminalia catappa) at home in Quezon City. It was not difficult for the new transplant to find a new home - in our home. It is because just across the wall at the back of our house is the sprawling La Mesa Watershed. It must be the "forest climate" that approximates that of Mt. Makiling in Laguna, that this native orchid got acclimatized easily. 

Among the five Cymbidium species, C. Finlaysonianum is the most widely distributed throughout the Malaysian area, It was collected by Finlayson in Chin-China in the ninetieth century. It was dedicated to him by Lindley, who originally described the plant in 1832. There is also a close relative, Cymbidium atropurpureum, its name taken from its dark purple flowers. Because of its closeness to C. Finlaysonianum in all morphological aspects, botanists consider it to be a variety of the latter. 

The leaves of this species are leathery and coarse, 35 to 40 inches long and 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide. The raceme is pendulous, about two to four feet long and many-flowered. The flowers are two inches in diameter, sepals and petals rather narrow, long, and colored dull tawny yellow with a reddish-brown median line. The labellum is three-lobed, the center lobe being whitish with a yellow disk and purple-crimson apical spot. 

Unlike most domesticated and hybrid orchids that bloom any time and for long periods, I observed that this wild orchid is sensitive to photoperiodism. It blooms usually in summer - in March and April - and the flowers last about two weeks. I like the characteristic mild fragrance especially in early morning. 

Orchids are among the easiest plants to propagate, vegetatively that is, either by tillers (shoots), or by tissue culture, a specialized laboratory procedure. This compensates for the extreme difficulty in propagation by seeds. The seeds of orchids are the most difficult to germinate. Even if they do, survival rate is very nil. It is because the viability of orchid seeds is very short and difficult to monitor. 

I have yet to succeed in germinating the seeds of C Finlaysonianum. Even if I fail, I am delighted to have a wild orchid luxuriantly growing in my home - its home. ~~ 

Reference:  Philippine Orchids by Reg S Davis and Mona Lisa Steiner