Garden Tales

Garden Tales 

A Patch of Eden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Odes to my Idol Writers and Authors

Odes to my Idol Writers and Authors

                                             By Abe V Rotor

1. To Jose Rizal

Your enemies tried to silence you,
     and curtailed your freedom;
the lamp flickers its last rays at dawn
     to seal your martyrdom.

2. To Aesop
Ah! Animals talk louder than men
though in screech, crow and bleat;
yet by moral and sanity, speak
not the language on the street.

3. To Ernest Hemingway
You seemed as brave as the old man
     in your great masterpiece;
the soldier, the hunter, the dreamer -
     yet wanting a life of peace.

4. To Charles Darwin
You did not give up to your critics,
    who only prayed and preached;
Around the world you witnessed,
    change by random and fit.

5. To Lola Basiang (penname of Severino Reyes 
You touched a million-and-one lives,
     around campfires in their prime;
like Grimm and Anderson and Homer,
     storytellers of all time.

6. To Boris Pasternak
Zhivago, to the end walked away alone,
from love neither in winter nor fallow;
what romance away from the war zone
wrapped him in doubt and sorrow.

7. To Mark Twain 
I am a boy forever, Tom or Huck,

    down the Mississippi loafing;
and let the world go on sans care
    what grownups are missing.

8. To Robert Louis Stevenson
"Kidnapped" made a boy into man
too soon to faced a cruel world;
learning quickly the art of war
deceit, conceit, gun and sword.

9. To Oscar Wilde 
You're a creator of characters and events,
     in novels, stories, and plays
children and adults alike on the armchair
     live in those times and places.

10. To Arthur Conan Doyle
"Sherlock Holmes" lives to this day,
     idol of any detective;
"The Lost World" remains of the past,

     is back in our midst to live. ~

Where have all the native fruits gone?

Where have all the native fruits gone?

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

                                 Tiesa (Lucuma nervosa), siniguelas (Spondias purpurea)

Where have all the native guava gone,

the bats and birds and the young one?

Where have all the sweet nangka gone,

its fruits buried under the ground?

Where have all the old piña gone,

on the upland, sweetened by the sun?

Where have all the red papaya gone,

solo by name, the only tree of a kind?

Where have all the pomegranate gone,

friendly though like the deadly one.

Where have all the pako mango gone,

to cook the finest sinigang?

Where have all the big pomelo gone,

its rind made into jelly and jam?

Where have all the red macopa gone,

the laughing children in its arm?

Where have all the native santol gone,

set aside for a large-seeded one?

Where have all the tall mabolo gone,

sapote and caimito that ripe into tan?

Gone to the genie everyone,

technology’s child becoming man. ~

 

 Black Sapote (Diospyrus digyna), Atis (Anona squamosa); 

native guava (Psidium guajava), macopa (Eugenia jambalana) 

Common Filipino Folk Superstitious Beliefs

Common Filipino Folk Superstitious Beliefs 

Compiled by Dr Abe V Rotor

Washed clothes should be taken from the clothesline at night, 

lest they be stolen and worn by dwarfs.

1.    All about moles: A person with a mole on his foot is a born adventurer. A person with a mole on his face will be successful in business. A person with a mole in the middle of her nose will be rich but unhappy.  A person with a mole close to his eye is attractive to the opposite sex.  A mole on the hand signifies wealth or thievery. A mole on one's back is a sign of laziness. A mole along the path of tears will be widowed. A mole on the sex organ is sign of active sex life.

2. Encountering a yellow butterfly will bring you good luck.  If a brown butterfly enters your house, you will lose money, if it is a black butterfly a relative is going to die.

At the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold. 

3. It is a good idea to change the name of a sickly child. That way you may be able to fool the spirits who are causing the sickness. 

4. The number of steps on a staircase should not be in multiples of three. Count off the steps as oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (death). The last step must not fall on mata.

Acknowledgement: 

Filipino Folk Beliefs Blogs - Estareja, Mendiola , Alamares , Borlongan
Living with Nature, AV Rotor
Living with Folk Wisdom, AV Rotor

Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Ring of Fire in acrylic, AVR 2016

Besieged by advancing culture, 

a forest once sacred and pristine,

falls into the evil hands of man - 

and man loses to his old sin. ~   

Early Sunset of a Landscape

   Early Sunset of a Landscape

"Landscape - but whose landscape?

robbed from people, robbed from Nature..."

Dr Abe V Rotor

View from a hill in Antipolo, Rizal, June 1, 2013

Afternoon and it's already sunset,

behind gray clouds the sun's shining,

wearing a red veil over the horizon,

with dust stirred into the air floating.

Beauty in birth and death - and life,

in between - clinging to final fate

in man's hand - and oh! how lonely,

how sad, nil of hope and losing faith.

Landscape - but whose landscape?

robbed from people, robbed from nature,

from beauty sublime, to one's design

for gain and power, not for the future. 

And he speaks on behalf of progress,

measured by concrete and steel,

by the amenities of the Good Life,

in unending want, incessant fill. ~   

  

The Eye in the Coral Reef

The Eye in the Coral Reef

Dr Abe V Rotor

The Eye in the Coral Reef, Acrylic Painting by the author 2015

The eye! The eye!

among the corals watching.

conscience of the sea,

over Homo sapiens fishing.

It never winks, it's alive,

guarding against man's folly,

whose eye, not of man,

disgraced guardian of the sea. ~

University of Santo Tomas (Founded 1611) Oldest Center of Academic Excellence

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

UST has one of the biggest student populations in Asia with some 50 thousand enrolled in two dozen colleges and faculties, from conservatory of music, fine arts, medicine to graduate school. 

Symbolic commitment for peace amongst religions.

Participants to the 7th Asian Conference of Religions for Peace, UST 2009

Graduate students take a break on a field study

On retreat for the quadricentennial of UST

Seminarians on seminar

The late Joey Velasco (in light t-shirt), is shown here with Dr Dante Lerma, and the late Dr Florentino Hornedo, and the author (far right) during his painting exhibition at UST. At the background is Hapag (Christ's Last Supper with Poor Children of Payatas QC). 2008Communications students under Dr Abe Rotor, pose with Joey Velasco (center, standing row), The untimely demise of the artist is a loss not only to art but humanity.   

 
Public school teachers in Metro Manila and suburbs pursue special courses at the UST graduate school under the government's program of upgrading education in the country.

Students working as a group is good training in bayanihan, a Filipino tradition.

Graduate students in biology study the rich flora of the university campus.

Be part of excellence, not critical of it. (12 Tips)

12 Tips

Be part of excellence, not critical of it. 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog 

 
 Be always at your best whether you are with children or adults.  Workshop on Folk Wisdom for Children; Reach Out workshop for adult leaders and senior citizens. Barangay Greater Lagro, QC

1. Plan properly to improve your performance.

2. Pay attention to details; give your work the final touch, the fine taste.

3. Success at the expense of your faith and family is failure in any language.

4. Know the difference between priority and urgency. 

5. Plan your work, and work you plan. 

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

7. The customer's perception is reality, for which reason we say, "the customer is always right."

8. Have a daily updated  appointment calendar.  Be sure to keep your appointments faithfully.

9. Be mentally and physically present and alert at meetings. Be critical of yourself as you are of others.

10. Arrogance is deadly, you may be the first victim,

11. Get better each day, and never vice versa.

12. Be part of excellence, not critical of it. ~

It's Amihan Season: Fly on My Little Kite And Other Poems

It's Amihan Season: 
Fly on My Little Kite And Other Poems
A critique on the poems of Sister Macarius Lacuesta, SPC

“Fly on my little kite

Do not let fear daunt you,

For the hand that holds the strings

Knows best and watches over you.”

Dr Abe V Rotor

Detail of mural by AVRotor

If imagery is more vivid than vision, take it from Sr. Macarius – religious, scholar and poetess.

“Fly on my little kite
Ride on the wings of the wind…
Over plains and dales,
Reach on to the heights,
Hear the whispers of the treetops,
And the secrets of the clouds.”

- Fly on My Little Kite

She samples us with the timelessness, and the vastness of imagery that transcends to all ages – the young and the old, the past and present – and beyond. It unleashes the searching mind to freedom, liberating the soul with the confidence of a hand that holds the string of that kite.

For who would not like to fly on that kite in order to see the world, or at least to be taller from where he stands, or to turn the hands of time and be a child again even only for a while? That child in all of us, it must live forever. It lives in a dragonfly many years ago we captured for fun.

“Ah, you bring me back to my yesteryears
When I would run to catch you…
The sound your wings did make was music to me…
And then the childish whim satisfied, I set you free.”

- You Naughty Dragonfly

Adventure, simple as it may, carries us to the open field, and its pleasant memories make us feel reborn. Sister Macarius’ unique imagery comes at the heels of virtual reality as one reflects on her poems. Yet, on the other side of the poetess’ nature, she is real, she is here and now, “through open fields she walked… tired and weary, she slumped on the stump of an acacia tree.” From here she journeyed to the deep recesses of the roots of the sturdy tree. How forceful, how keen are her thoughts, true to being a devout religious.

“For their roots journey to the deep earth 
Was a determined search for water,
Unmindful of the encounter with darkness,
Where cold and heat would not reach.”

- Journey to the Deep.

Faith is as deep as the roots of a sturdy tree. Such analogy refines the moral of the poem. It is a parable in itself. The poetess paused. In prayer she said in the last part of the poem, poignant yet firm and believing in the fullness of thrust and confidence of a Supreme Being.

“Lord, sink my roots into the depths of unwavering faith in You;
Help me believe that in my encounter
With darkness, hope may be borne
And my life will manifest all
The goodness, the beauty that is You.”
- Journey to the Deep

While poems do not drive a lesson like hitting a nail on the head, so to speak, they provide a mellowing effect, especially to us adults, to accept lessons in life. Such is the commonality of the poems of Sister Macarius, Sister Mamerta Rocero and Sister Paat, who are respected literary figures of the local SPC congregation. Their poems have a deep message to the reader in the ways of respecting and loving God. They often begin with reverence for life.

“All you peoples, clap your hands and sing,
The God of Creation has done wonderful deeds
And the earth is full of His handiworks
All for you and me.”

We picture God as detached, way above the level of man. Great writers in the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Dumas and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow can attest to that. More so with Michaelangelo as shown in his mural, Creation. And yet we believe that man is the image of God. The anthropocentric view is that man was created in the likeness of God, and that he is the custodian of His creation. How lucky is man indeed to be the center of God’s attention! In Sr. Macarius Child of the Kingdom, she starts with a question, “Are you a child of the Kingdom? Then she proceeded to answer the question herself.

“Even with a sense of wonder
Holding a cup full of surprises,
Reading out to share with others
The joy of His abiding presence
Nurturing within your being 
The hope of eternal life.”

We may not know the places and boundaries of eternity and kingdom. They are too far out there for us to grasp and believe, much more to understand. Yet we have learned to accept them, grew up with them, abstract as they are, in the name of faith and doctrine. They are there laid upon the path we all travel. At its end lies our salvation, which is as abstract as eternity and kingdom.

Our modern world has become skeptical about abstract things. It is moving away from rituals of faith to rituals of entertainment. Action demands reason. Imagination cannot be left unquestioning. Even science remote from technology is theory. Religions too, continue to evolve, breaking away from the moorings of tradition and dogma. Mystery and faith are no longer the perfect partners as they did for centuries. And the world has become more vigilant against conquerors using religion for their greed, sharing the bounties of conquest with it. And religion that keeps the colonial master in power, sitting beside the throne.

Just like Christianity replaced the long revered Aztec sun god, and the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus that survived Roman rule but vanishing with its fall, we ask ourselves today, “Will Vatican finally lose its global power and vast wealth? Will cultism create an exodus away from the church?” And now come the cybergods, riding on satellites and the internet and entering our living rooms at any time without knocking on our doors. And here is a hydra of corporate cultures, a kind of religion itself.

Sr. Macarius’ poems do not deal with issues about faith, eternity, salvation, kingdom, and the like, endorsing them to debate. She does not act like a doctor of the church even if she carries a doctorate degree in philosophy. Yet in her own gentle way she invites the reader to the fold, riding on that little kite, running in the open field after a dragonfly.

For what is eternity but to be “a child forever,” (A thing of beauty is a joy forever – Joyce Kilmer). What is kingdom but the realm we once lived before we became grownups, in the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’ in The Little Prince? And salvation? Oh, it is in innocence when the conscience is not bothered. (The Brothers Grimm)

“Naughty dragonfly…I am born once again to a child –
alive and free.”

“Catch the sight of a tree… and rest for a while.”
- Under the Fig Tree

“Speak to me in the loveliness of a rose
Fresh and sparkling with the morning dew.”
- A World Full of You

“You sing to me in the chirping of love birds,
Greeting each other at the break of day.”
- A World Full of You

“Listen to the story of that grand mountain
Like a faithful sentinel standing there.”
- Fly on My Little Kite.”

“How blest and gifted I am to be one
With a beautiful world.”
- A World Full of You

“Lord, help me become the child of Your Kingdom.”
- Child of the Kingdom

It was a bright morning some two years ago when Sister Macarius visited me at the SPCQ Museum. She showed me these poems. “I have not written poems for a long, long time,” she said and that started a couple of hours of pleasant discussion about poetry today and its significance. She exuded a lovely smile as she recited her poems. “Beautiful,” I said, amazed at what a septuagenarian lady can make of poetry which usually blooms in youth. That was the last time I saw Sister Macarius.

The amihan wind had just arrived. I saw a tarat bird perched on the nearby caimito tree singing. Up in the sky a kite was flying. I remembered Sister Macarius.

“Fly on my little kite
Do not let fear daunt you,
For the hand that holds the strings
Knows best and watches over you.”

x x x

Life is Synergy

Life is Synergy

Dr Abe V Rotor

                                                      Jungle painting in acrylic by the author

Life ‘s more than the sum of its parts,
as each creature comes and departs;
synergy the key to unity,
diversity and harmony
and seat of a great mystery.~

The Drummer Boy

The Drummer Boy  

Dr Abe V Rotor 

The Drummer Boy (Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Internet)

He marched with the flag before him,

the Drummer Boy to his master’s will;

the flag drops, yet drumming still,

fell he, knowing only the battle hymn.~

Sea Cavern Mural

Sea Cavern Mural 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Wall Mural at SPUQC painted by the author, ca 2000

Visit a submarine cave of the tropical seas
through a mural of the imagination -
pristine, unspoiled, undiscovered eversince;
or one, the remnant of exploitation,
man’s endless pursuit of power and riches, 
and his concept of the art of creation. ~

Painting and Poetry: Fish Incognito

Painting and Poetry: 

Fish Incognito

Dr Abe V Rotor

A School of Grouper Fish (38" x 26"), AVR.

Fish, tell me where you live, your home;

The ocean is so huge to be your own;

Fish answers: I am a fugitive in pursuit,

Hunted or hunter whichever may suit.

Fish, tell me of your kin and your shoal;

How you live together as a school;

Fish answers: I live by the rules of the sea,

By number and luck, and by being free.

Fish, tell me if I am friend to you, or a foe;

I gave you a name, regard you with awe;

Fish answers: Neither, I'd rather be unseen,

Far from the dreadful fate in your cuisine. ~