Naturalism - the Eighth Sense

Monday, March 2, 2026

Poetry with Nature

Poetry with Nature

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

1. Seeing Heaven through a Leaf

Atop Mt Makiling, Laguna

I see these holes
windows of the sky,
I see the stars
the birds that fly
I see the day
the darkness of night,
I see the universe
beyond the sight
I see these keyholes
the doors of life,
I see the way to heaven
in joy and strife. ~

2. Weeds

Bachelor's Button (or Butbutones/Cornflower), Centaurea cyanus.

There are creatures destined to live
best in the wild,
Where everything is so little,
others barely thrive.
They fill the emptiness of time,
and that of space,
The forgotten corners of the Earth
with divine grace. ~

Living with Nature book series, AVRotor. UST

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Grow, Lichens Grow, on Forgotten Fences

Grow, Lichens Grow, on Forgotten Fences

Dr Abe V Rotor

Fruticose type of lichen, a symbiosis of alga and fungus, Tagaytay city 2008

Lichens, children of the plant kingdom
United for life in flesh and soul;
One tames the sun that gives life to all,
The other catches the dewdrops fall.
Twosome swaying in the wind like chime
As seasons pass through the eons of time.

I saw you before and I see you now,
Where the fairy's wand got back its magic
Where fireflies have come back to their home,
And the air is no longer stale and sick
Grow friendly lichens e'en only in patches
On trees and rocks and forgotten fences.~

Composed on Angels' Hills, Tagaytay, January 5, 2010

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Home, Sweet Home, This Summer. "There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!"

Home, Sweet Home, This Summer

"There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!"

Dr Abe V Rotor

Brick farm house in acrylic, by AVRotor

Home, Sweet Home
By John Howard Payne
Music by Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855)
(Arranged for the violin and piano by Henry Farmer)

‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.
Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home!

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;
O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singingly gaily, that came to my call –
Give me them – and the peace of mind, dearer than all.
Home, Home sweet, sweet Home.

There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!

Home Sweet Home is one of my favorite pieces on the violin. My daughter would accompany me on the piano in my lectures, and on one occasion, in a concert. The arrangement made by Henry Farmer is made up of three variations revolving on the popular melody of the song. Home Sweet Home was popularized by the pioneers who left their homes in the Old World and settled in the New World - America.

One of the lessons I discussed on the school-on-air program - (former) Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid , with Ms Melly C Tenorio - is about home and family. It was one of the liveliest lessons ever conducted on air with many enthusiastic callers who shared their concepts and views about a happy home. Here is a short list.

1. Home is a roof for everyone, residents and guests.
2. Home is a wall with large windows that let the sun and the breeze in.
3. Home is where fish in the aquarium sparkle in the morning’s sun.
4. Home is a baby smiling, of children playing.

5. Home is a faithful husband and wife.

6. Home is a “place for everything and everything in its place,” but not always.

7. Home is dad and mom waiting for us from school.
8. Home is a workshop for hobbies and inventions.
9. Home is where our dog lies on the doormat waiting for its master.
10. Home is a litter of puppies and kittens.
11. Home is a rooster crowing, nature’s alarm clock.
12. Home is a house lizard’s crispy announcement of a guest coming.
13. Home is a frog croaking in the rain.
14. Home is a safari of wildlife – from insects to migratory birds.
15. Home is a warm embrace of a cat.
16. Home is a cup of coffee, a sip of wine, a newspaper.
17. Home is a warm bath, a cold shower, a bath tub.
18. Home is National Geographic, Time Magazine, Daily Inquirer.
19. Home is ripe tomato, succulent radish, dangling string beans,
20. Home is a brooding mother hen in her nest.
21. Home is fresh eggs everyday.
22. Home is the sound of birds and crickets.

23. Home is the sweet smell of flowers, falling leaves, swaying branches

in the wind.

24. Home is the sweet smell of the earth after the first rain in May.
25. Home is a singing cicada in the tree.
26. Home is a swarming of gamugamo in the evening.
27. Home is a sala too small for so many friends.
28. Home is a cabinet of books, a study table, a computer.
29. Home is Beethoven, Mozart, Abelardo, Santiago.
30. Home is Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Sharon Cuneta.
31. Home is Amorsolo. Picasso, Van Gogh.

32. Home is potpourri of appetizing recipes, of the proverbial grandmother

apple pie.

33. Home is pinakbet, lechon, karekare, suman, bibingka.
34. Home is a garden of roses, a grass lawn to lie on.
35. Home is an herbarium of plants, a gene bank.
36. Home is home for biodiversity, a living museum.
37. Home is doing repair that has no end.
38. Home is disposing old newspapers, bottles, metal scraps, used clothes.
39. Home is a midnight candle before an exam.
40. Home is a shoulder, a pillow, to cry on.

41. Home is Noche Buena.

42. Home is fireworks on New Year.

43. Home is general cleaning on weekends.
44. Home is a soft bed that soothes tired nerves and muscles.
45. Home is a fire place, a hearth, which takes the cold out of the body and spirit.
46. Home is a Prodigal Son returning, Good Samaritan.
47. Home is a round table where thanksgiving prayer is said.
48. Home is laughter and music, prose and poetry.
49. Home is forgiving, rejoicing, celebrating.

50. Home is angelus and rosary hour.

To sum it all, Home is Home, Sweet Home.~

Author plays "Home, Sweet Home" with imagined scenery of love and longing.

Homeward Bound

Dr Abe V Rotor

There's one road you travel on down the bend:

going home every day in your life 'til its end.

when the sun is low, and when it's going down,
you have to leave, and home you're bound.

when the fowls roost in their favorite tree,
you too, shall cease in your work and spree.

when the leaves of the acacia tree start to fold,
start walking home, a wise advice of the old.

when the fields are empty, save the haystacks,
and some old gleaners bent on their backs.

when the prop roots of the balete appear ghostly,
even if you are afraid, don't show, act bravely.

when the bell tolls the Angelus, it's time to pray,
and every one pauses for a while on his way.

when approaching home the whole household
greets you - what a happy family to behold!

When the day is over, when life comes to an end,
finished or not your task, it's time to say Amen. ~

Our World is on Fire! "Our house is on fire, and our children are in."

Our World is on Fire!

"Our house is on fire, and our children are in."

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

"The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Chain Reaction Armageddon"*

Many a story or song is about this topic:
"The house is on fire." Light or tragic;
In our times, please take the latter stance,
in case of fire, there's no safe distance.

Like in war, on all sides of the globe,
socio-economic loss need not probe,
loss of peace and happiness - to doom -
in chain reaction, it's ad infinitum. - avr

"Ladybug, Ladybug, where have you been; your house is on fire,

and your children are in? **" - Traditional Children's rhyme

"What does it mean to die when you can live until the end

of the world?" - Anne Rice

Our World on Fire

Sunset, a time for retreat and prayer,

like sunrise, will be missed forever;

too soon for our planet's life span,

designed in a system with the sun. - avr

"Anticipating the end of the world is humanity's oldest

pastime." - David Mitchell

Our World in Ashes

The Phoenix Bird rises from its ashes is a story,

from ancient legend to the level of philosophy,

a paradox of building and destroying beauty -

What then is posterity, what is immortality? - avr

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces,

I would still plant my apple tree." - Martin Luther

Our Dead Planet

No, it's no longer a blue planet we once knew;

beautiful, peaceful, like blue diamond's glow.

Where have all the wonderful creatures gone,

and the proud heritage and monuments of man?

- avr

"When I was younger I wish I'd known that what often seemed to be the 'end of the world' often turned out to be a positive and transformative experience!" - Annie Lennox

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* Armageddon refers to the prophesied final, calamitous battle between good and evil forces, originating from the Book of Revelation, signifying a cataclysmic end-of-the-world scenario. A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces neutrons, and the process repeats. The process may be controlled (nuclear power) or uncontrolled (nuclear weapons). Internet

** Traditional English nursery rhyme. It dates back to at least 1744, about an insect, 28-spotted ladybug beetle, (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata or H. vigintioctomaculata), which survived a fire and got its characteristic markings - 28 black spots all over its beautiful orange-red body. On the dark side, this nursery rhyme is a warning to us all, hence the essence and urgent call of this article.

Friday, February 27, 2026

Part 1 - Love the Children through Nature's Art. Part 2 - Save Nature through Children's Art

In celebration of National Art Month, February 2026

Part 1 - Love the Children through Nature's Art

Dr Abe V Rotor
Guardian and Tutor

“They always say time changes things, but you actually
have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol

Author demonstrates basic art under the trees.

Away from the cellphone and mall,
for a time precious however small.

“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.”
- Edward Hopper

Wall mural brings nature to children in imagery.

Reach out for something a dream,
a pot of gold, morning sun beam.

“To create one’s own world takes courage.” Georgia O’Keeffe

A work of art is beautiful and never wrong.

Proudly they stand with their art,
a treasure their lives now a part.

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”
- Auguste Rodin

Outdoor art workshop under the trees. Living with Nature arboretum.

A school: its roof,
the sky and treetops,
its walls the horizon,
its floor bare earth;
it is Nature's zone.

Shh... these children feel free,
freedom in creativity

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso

Art guides children to a healthy socio-cultural life.

Time out, art is not in a hurry,
pause with nature and company.

“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” Francis Bacon

Author as guardian and tutor to children

Art has many expressions,
in different sessions;
shy and cautious at first,
'til released like a burst.

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” Vincent van Gogh ~

Part 2 - Save Nature through Children's Art

"Lolo," knocking on the gate, they called,
"Why it's gloomy, typhoon's coming," I said;
And the wind had started blowing cold;
Children are children, bless them, oh Lord.

And I, a parent, a teacher grown very old,
Rose from my armchair to meet the three;
"Can we draw?" chorused they cheerfully
What shall they draw when the sky's heavy?

Living with Nature garden with Rizal's shrine as background.

The shrine depicts his life in exile at Dapitan as artist, scientist,

doctor, teacher and farmer, among other roles.

Author and tutor Dr Rotor poses with budding artists, all students of San Vicente Integrated School. at the Living with Nature Center

"Go to Mother Nature when tired, lonely and uncertain,
when all human comfort fails, when abandoned." - avr

Integrated Children's Summer Workshop conducted by the author

at the San Vicente Botanical Garden , San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

Take time out from TV, computer, malling;
life's so dull, busy yet empty;
The left brain's overworked, the right idle,
growing up is a sad story.

Take time out in summer away from school,
put down your books and depart;
give imagination a chance over knowledge
through creativity in the art.

Take time out to be close to Mother Nature,
draw and paint under the trees,
recreate the world you wish it should be,
let your worries go with the breeze.

Take time out to be your real self, discover
beyond the world of reality,
with myriad colors and the paintbrush,
the boundless realm of fantasy. ~

Author's Note: From the neighborhood these children came to learn drawing in spite of inclement weather lately caused by a series of typhoons . School classes were suspended, but thanks to the brief calm moments the children found respite in drawing. They brought home their works, in order to share their acquired skill and optimism to their family and community.