DAY 1: THE WANNABE POETIC ME

I'm glad that I went over my belongings the other day as I encountered things that really brightened up my mood. One of these was a notebook bearing some of the poems I've written over the years. They're not that many, by the way, but I still take pride in these written-in-verse outputs of mine, even though no one gets to read most of them -- especially my love poems -- but me.

I do remember having composed simple poems for other people, as a thank-you memento kumbaga (I bet my best friend remembers this as well). And though I can hardly recall the exact words I had penned, what I can still see clearly in my head is the smile on the faces of those who were lucky enough (whaaaat?!!!) to have received a poem from me. And thinking about it now, to be able to make someone happy because of your poem is a far better reward than getting a positive critical response. Yet for me, the latter form of appreciation is by all means valuable, which therefore leads me to share with you this poem -- written five or six years ago -- that got these remarks from my Retorika professor:

"Iba ang iyong istilo. Gusto ko (Your style is different. I liked it)."

SI TULA
Sinubukan kong gumawa ng tula,
Isang akdang may sukat at tugma;
Laman ng isip at puso mo ika nga,
'Di pala madali sa simula.

Unti-unti'y nagkaroon ng titik,
Blankong papel sa letra'y naging hitik.
"Maganda 'to," ang aking pakiwari,
Subalit natigilan nang sandali.

Maya-maya, idlip ako'y niyaya.
Teka nga at ito'y pagbigyan muna;
Tulang hinahabi balikan mamaya,
Pagkagising ito'y tatapusin na.

Nguni't tila nasarapan ata.
Hayu't tula'y nakalimutan pa nga.
"Paano na ngayon 'yan?" aniya,
ng tulang asam ay mabuo s'ya.

"Aba, malay ko!" ang biglang sagot ko,
Paano ba nama'y natutulog ako.
Maghanap ka na lang ng magtutuloy sa'yo;
Ang tanong... sino ang tatapos nito?!

Yay!