Centuries ago, women suspected of witchcraft
Almost always met a fiery end
This brutal practiced seemed daft
As rules for proving witchcraft would never bend
Women with a mole or a scar
Is all the proof they needed
It was really quite bizarre
As common sense was never heeded
Torturous methods were used to force a confession
This of course would seal the woman's fate
Witches seemed to be their obsession
No mercy came at any rate
Echoes linger where injustice once thrived
As history turns its faded page
For many justice is still deprived
Are we moving from or toward a darker age?
A cold November wind blows through the leaves
that chills the mighty oak trees to their bark;
and in the shiver that the wind-wave weaves,
a single leaf’s left swirling in the dark.
Upon the ground this crimson leaf alights
among the other leaves that settled down;
all fallen from their limbs of lofty heights,
and slowly does their beauty turn to brown.
While once she thrived in youth upon her branch,
she now knows sadly that her days are spent.
And grieving for this leaf’s now faded chance,
this aging poet too must give assent.
Whereas the forest and the world consort,
both leaves and poet’s lives are measured short.
651.
The 1st Period of the Pre-Spanish Era of Philippine History:
The 3 Races
Thousands of years ago
Came the first peoples into the Philippine archipelago
They were the Negritos, the Indones & the Malays
They came by feet, by boats & by balangays
The first to come were the Negritos
They came into this land by toes
In times when there were still land bridges
These black-skinned people thrived here for ages
The second to come were the Indones
They came into these islands by boats with ledges
In times when land bridges already submerged
These fair-skinned people here emerged
The third to come were the Malays
They came into this archipelago by balangays
In times when Malaysia was ruled by a cruel sultan
These brown-skinned people to settle here had begun
This is the 1st Period of Pre-Spanish Era – The 3 Races
The Filipinos began as civilized people, not as savages
This is the dawn of Philippine civilization
God started the Philippines as a civilized nation.
-05/06/2019
*Periods on the Eras of the Philippine History
He
nourished
my soul with
his promises,
and like a rosebud,
I thirsted for the rain
of beautiful vows that fell
from luscious lips I loved to kiss.
His very presence lit up my world,
and for a while, I thrived in his garden.
Suddenly the sunshine sustaining me
became endless days of dreary gray.
I’m wilting here now, knowing that
nothing he’d told me was true.
A bee, he sweetly sees
new blooms as I die,
petals plucked. He
loves me; he
loves me
not.
Pottery scattered and came to life.
I opened up that art supply closet.
Flicked locusts off of me.
The winner in me started out severed.
Fast talking, mixed up, mangled.
Something in me took off like an old billboard torn away.
I thrived.
I throve.
I thrived like miles of sick globs.
I thrived like spikes on a cloud.
I thrived like bites unspoken.
I thrived like being stapled to the wall with a gold star.
I talked as fast as they could scarf a whole seal off the beach.
A little clay figurine.
That little, monster figurine from the supply room?
Doesn’t remind me of anything special.
And yet, the chattering continues.
Flicked those locustsssss.
I thrived.
I throve.
I was mangled and covered in drool.
Callie had lived outside in the cold and borne a litter;
by the time we got her, but she was never bitter.
We took her in. She craved being inside.
Never did we worry she’d run away or hide.
Though sickly and skinny, she didn’t stay like that.
She thrived and even got a little fat!
Callie was so sweet and always followed me.
I’d hear her bell’s ting-a-ling and there she’d be.
The queen of our house, that tortoise-shell was shrewd.
She’d tap my head to wake me for her morning food.
When she was eighteen, light left her pretty eyes,
for there came to her a thing I grew to despise.
Cancer crept beneath her skin -cruel and unseen.
I couldn’t bear to see her soft fur lose its sheen.
She’d howl with pain and hide beneath our bed.
I took her to the vet’s where I cradled Callie’s head.
I watched her eyes grow dim; then her spirit left,
leaving me in tears and feeling so bereft.
No cat that I’ve had since her ever could compare.
In heaven may I meet dear Callie Cat up there.
From Mazagon docks
On Bombay's shores
He sailed to Mombasa
Overland to Kampala
From one colonial hub
To the Pearl of Africa
The source of the Nile
The end of the railway
Moved by imperialism
In service of His Majesty
Using accounting skills
He toiled diligently
Empire worked efficiently
Extracting wealth quietly
Using agency of his ilk
Dividing and ruling
A good learner was he
Risk taker: entrepreneur
Started trading; thrived
Built a house; believed
The clock was ticking
World War 2, tolled
"Independence" came
He retired to Marna
Watched from afar
As it came apart
Protectorate to confusion
Kabaka and Prime Minister
He passed at repast
With grandchildren
It was no jest; gone
At rest in the village
His manses to decay
Wealth to scatter
Descendants aplenty
None like him
“Mommy!” a daughter asked her mother…
as she sat atop her knee…
“Do you know when it was…you fell in love with me?”
“I’’m going to let you in on a little secret.” Her mom smiled
“And I swear that this is true…for as long as I can remember…
I’ve been in love with you.”
“The idea of you was always in the back of my mind…
The thought of you…alive…
and I spent a good deal of my life…waiting for you to arrive.”
“You were the wisp of a dream when I was young…
A wish, a hope…I knew one day would come true…
And I was so excited and happy…
when I found out that dream…was you.”
“So for an answer to your question…here’s the best that I can do…
As long as I can remember…there was a place in my heart…
I had reserved for you.”
“A safe, warm and comforting place
where my love for you has thrived…
And there it waited patiently for the day you would arrive”
“And though the moment I first held you in my arms
while crying joyful tears…
was the moment I first whispered ‘I love you’ in you ears.”
“With all those years of love stored up
waiting for the day our lives would intertwine…
the truth is I did not fall into your love…
you fell into mine.
376.
The 3 Races
There were 3 great islands in the Orient
Millennia ago, 3 Races here God sent…
First among them were the Negritos
From farthest lands came with bare toes
Second were folks known as the Indones
From not so far they journeyed less
Third were people we know as the Malays
From neighboring nation riding balangays
…And so the 3 Races thrived & multiplied
Establishing a society that made us civilized!
-09/10/2015
(Dumarao)
*Philippine History Rhyme Collection
Last year, we planted California poppies
For the first time. Only one plant survived,
But we were delighted and proud that our
Poppies thrived and thrilled all who saw them.
This year, desirous of a great show spot,
I transplanted California poppies
On top of our dirt pill.
To my sore disappointment,
They all withered and died.
I wanted to cry, but because
The poppies of '25 were so
Popular, I will continue to try.
Hoping to spread the beauty,
We have shared some poppies
with our wonderful niethbors
And are anticipating their success.
THE LATCH KEY KIDS
We are the infamous latch key kids,
feral dyed in the wool.
A free range generation raised up
grabbing the horns of the bull.
There was no one there, to tell us where
we could and could not go.
Adventure to be had, danger ain't bad.
A cool scar's quid pro quo.
Long past when the street lights came on
we howled and barked at the moon.
Party all night, lookin' for a fight.
then stayed in bed until noon.
Drinking, smoking, dropping, and worse
anything to escape.
The streets made us feel so alive.
Home a toxic landscape.
School of hard knocks, knocks you back.
They grew up, we survived.
Grizzled and rough, tattered but tough,
those who lived through it, thrived.
I venture to say
That most people,
Against all odds,
Have found their way.
Against all odds, they believed.
They lived the nightmare,
But kept their dream alive.
Against all odds, they kept the faith
And were able to survive.
They experienced a living hell,
But Against all odds, they thrived.
Against all odds, rejecting the lie,
They refused to roll over and die.
Although over many years, their eyes
Wept bitter tears, like windshield
Wipers, they wiped away their fears.
Their bodies, although beaten, brused,
And pained, little by little, they gained,
Because their spirits refused to be ruled
By their sighs.
They both loved to travel.
Thrived on sparks of spontaneity and adventure.
Life had much to offer.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Shabby chic was her decor.
She thrived in that old nostalgic aura.
Catered to her prolific muse.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Leftovers from a child's dream
where Christopher Robin and his crew
imagined a world of Tigger and Pooh,
when innocents thrived and saw only good
gentle, soft gestures within the wood
where time along still and quiet stood.
Bring back those days of wonderment
when my children could pursue their dreams
and life itself could laugh and sing,
no AI, no Tik Tok challenges
just pure imagination and carefree dalliances
let me be a child once more.
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