that smile.


      that charm.
               i   wonder.


that. that. that smile. 
        i wonder, that smile.
and that look,
                             your look.
      i wonder, that look. 
                      just passing me by, but passing me certainly
     i wonder that look.


i wonder you. i wonder if.
                                           so, can it be?
              i wonder.

A Teacher's Random Thoughts

I have students who have to work really hard for their education. we have evening classes that end up to 8:30 and 9:30 in the evening. After work, i can usually relax before going home. But some of my students would have to return back to their night shifts, which may end as early as 5:00 in the morning. Or while I worry about how to go about with lessons, my students worry about work concerns and academic pressure.

And yet, they are the students who seemed to see beyond superficiality of the lessons I have to offer. When I teach them, I know what I teach won't just fall to deaf ears. They thirst for knowledge, they thirst to understand and to learn. They are some of the most respectful and appreciative people I've met.

And sometimes it saddens me to have also encountered students who, even at the slightest disregard of their whims (not buying the latest edition of a tab, no internet connection, or chores given them), would hate their parents or even curse them- for very small matters. I realized that if leisure and luxury are given to you real easy, without the responsibility being inculcated, you could just easily disregard gratitude.

And sometimes it saddens me when I find myself grumbling for the little discomforts in my life-how easily i seem to forget how blessed I am.

Whenever I see my students, even I would remind myself how lucky I am to have my parents, to have my education easier, for what i have, for where I am, for my job, everything - easier...

How blessed I am to have my students. They have taught me so much. I am such a lucky teacher to have crossed their path.

** this short article was also published in Lingkod Davao's website. 

When Does Love Sting?

When does love sting
     when I feel no pain in its stinging?
When does love sting,
     when even if not numb I still don't feel for you?
When does love sting,
     when after all the reaching all of you
     all the searching of you
     after all the waiting
     the searing understanding
All I feel is no pain.
Wouldn't love hurt when there is to care?
Wouldn't love prick one's heart when one finds it longing?
Why not a single, small stinging?
None.

When does love sting,

     when even if not numb I still don't feel for you?

Why does it not sting?

**when can you say that you have already moved on? they say that the opposite of love is not really anger, but indifference. for if when the other would still cause you anger, pain and stirrings of emotions, that may not be a sign of moving on. if it stings, perhaps it's still there. when somebody has given everything for love and has nothing to give, and perhaps its no longer worth fighting for - it may lead somebody numb, and perhaps suffocate love.