Murals at the University of Santo Tomas (Article in Progress)

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature School on Blog 

Part 1: Spanish Colonial Period

Part 2: Contemporary and Recent Period 

Oscar in old age

Dr Abe V Rotor

Oscar in old age, at home QC

Its time has come to die peacefully, 
this pet my children grew up with;
love and attention it did all get,
   save freedom from its own confine;
   between living in the wild uncared; 
  love and freedom compared. ~

Mackie and the Owl

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Mackie before a wall mural by the author at her home in Lagro QC   2015

Mackie used to be afraid of the owl,

       imagined or on the screen.

and would fling into embrace blind

       until it is no longer seen.

The creature would appear in the dark,

       in her favorite cartoon;

by its hooting in the hollow of a tree,

       she would freeze like stone. 

Until I captured the scary creature

       with paint brush on the wall,

where kids could talk to and touch;

      now the owl is a friend to all. ~  

Parbangon Nanem (It's Dawn Again)

Parbangon Nanem (It's Dawn Again)

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Pumarbangonen: Sarzuela ken komedia, 

Mangrugi manen.
(Dawn ushers daily grind
of life's drama and comedy)
dawn photo

2. Ti ukoy-ukoy,
Agur-uray diay abut
Iti agbiddut.
(The antlion waits for prey
that blunders and falls into its pit.)


3. Nakasutsutil -
Bacchus, Ambrosius Venus,
Tulongandak!
(Help me from tempters - Bacchus,
Ambrosius, Venus. From Greek mythology
gods and goddess of ostentatious living.)

4. Igudagudmo,
Agsangit, agkatawa;
Langit ken daga.
(It's the violin being referred to.
It cries and laughs with heaven and earth.)

5. Kapanunutan 
Ken takyag iti mangged,
Puso ti tured.
(Intellect and brawn to earn;
courage is in the heart.)

6. Saan nga ammo,
Nat-natay diay adayo,
Ilagip tayo.
(Reverence to the dead -
even those unknown in distant land.)

7. Kapanunutan, 
Narigat nga abaken,
Malaksid kukuam.
(You really can't win an argument,
except your own.)

8. Umisemkan, 
Tapno maturogen ti
Dakkel a bulan. 
(Your sweet smile
makes the moon sleep. ) 

9. Nakadumog, 
Labaslabasan ti angin,
Agngil-ngilangil.
(Refers to good harvest:
Heavy panicles bow low,
ducking the passing wind.)

10. Naturoganna't 
Panagbaliw ti lubong
Ni Rip Van Winkle.
(From Washington Irving's story,
Rip van Winkle, about a man
who slept for twenty long years
amid changes going on in the world.)

11. Panagkakadua,
Awan iti baetna, 
Mamagsisina.
(Too close for comfort, referring to friendship. )

12. Malinlinay, 
Lumakay, agbabaak,
Ag-gigiddiak.
(Getting old and aging
don't mean the same thing.)

13. Gura ken ayat,
Bumtakman wenno umpes,
Arig ti ulep. 
(Love and hate may be compared to a cloud -
it dissipates or falls as rain.)

14. Diay pag-gugubatan
Ubbing laeng ti matay,
Ilida’t lumakay. 
(As the young die in the battlefield,
the country unprecedentedly grows old.)
 15. Warnak inaldaw, 
Amin nakaragragsak, 
Daksanggasat.
(A daily reminder: Too much
fun may lead to sorrow.)

16. Toy agkabanuag,
Adut’ pakairamanan, 
Pakairanudan.
(The youth have good
and bad things to share.)


17. Kapapategan, 
Dua laeng iti pagpilian - 
Kappia ken Kappia.
(Peace is peace. There is no other choice.
It is the most treasured thing.)

18. Flanders, Bataan,
Agur-uray ti turay, 
Kappia, pakawan. 
(Forgiveness and Peace reign in the WWII
memorials in Flanders Field in Europe,
and Bataan in the Philippines.)

19. Uray laglagip
Tinubuanen iti ru-ot
Didiay Austerlitz.
("I'm the grass, I cover all," says a poet, referring
to the dead in this battlefield in WWII.
It covers also memories)

20. Akasia’t malem,
Ti panagawid ammuem, 
Makaturogen.
(Call it a day when the leaves of the
acacia tree droop.)

Photos credit Internet, Wikimedia  

      

                                    

The Lost Owl

Dr Abe V Rotor

Philippine Owl, circa 1969

It fell from its roost, and that was a long time ago,

and I was then young and eager about the world -

What would I care about an owl suddenly appearing

in broad daylight, and I driving a top-down Ford?

It gave a kind of queer smile, its eyes half-close,

hunched and still, but I'm not the birdman Audubon -

What would I care about this descendant of dinosaurs,

to tell me its lineage, and I, a link to a larger bond?

No. I had pressing task to finish, I had to drive fast;

Wait, my partner said, and took a photo of the fellow;

and down the lane and up we went. Years passed.

I dreamt of a bird on a lonely road, cold as snow.~

Tranquility

Dr Abe V Rotor


                                                     Mayon Volcano, Albay.   

Tranquility reigns on her face,
      rage in her breast,
If beauty exudes best
      from a spring of force,
I do not wonder at the shyness
      of a crest,
And the power of a single rose.

Wouldn’t a temper make up
     for its want?
That white is whiter
     beside an ugly stain?
Beauty, oh beauty, I am thy 
     willing servant,
With mine eyes, thoughts,
     fears, sans sane. ~