In the Circle of Friends

We were made to love and be loved
But the price this world demands
Will cost you far too much
I spent so many lonely years
Just trying to fit in
Now I’ve found a place in this circle of friends

In a circle of friends
We have one Father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That every orphaned soul will know
And all will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

If you weep, I will weep with you
If you sing for joy
The rest of us will lift our voices too
But no matter what you feel inside
There’s no need to pretend
That’s the way it is in this circle of friends

In a circle of friends
We have one father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That’s we’ll gather together
No matter how the highway bends
I will not lose this circle of friends

Among the nations, tribes and tongues
We have sisters and brothers
And when we meet in heaven
We will recognize each other
With joy so deep
And love so sweet
Oh, we’ll celebrate these friends
And a life that never ends

In a circle of friends
We have one Father
In a circle of friends
We share this prayer
That it will not be long before
All will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends
That it will not be long before
All will enter in
To the shelter of this circle of friends

Keeping Secrets..igo ko bai..heheh

Whatever you’re told in confidence, do not repeat.
Whenever you’re tempted to talk, do not yield.
Whenever you’re discussing people, do not gossip.
However you’re prone to disagree, do not slander.
Honestly now, can you keep a secret? Prove it!

The Orchard

On the fertile grounds of myheart, seeds were sown for an orchard of love and friendship. God made theconditions favorable, soon enough they grew. The sweet smell of euphorialingered in the air as they blossomed like musical canon. The fruits from theharvest nourished my frail body that was made famish by fear.

While all the trees, theirproduce I have tasted, a peculiar shrub was still maturing. Shyly situated in acorner I seldom pass by, I carefully dug out its roots and replanted it in themiddle of the garden. Prudently I watered it everyday, pulled out the weedsaround it, shaded it when the sun was blazing, and remove the caterpillars fromits leaves.

One day, its first bud blossomedand gave off a distinct strong aroma that was exotic and undeniable alluring. Ipaid close attention and gave special care as its flowers develop. I becamerather impatient for it took a longer time for its fruits to mature.

At long last, the day came when Iknew that they were ripe for the picking because of the fragrance so invitingthat it muted out all the others in the garden. It was pure seduction. Elationbecame passionate fervor. I plucked the largest and the ripest, not minding thepricks of the spines as I opened it for its flesh with my bare hands.

I devoured a mouthful like ahungry beast. But just how good it smelled, it was also how awful it tasted forit was bitter. I spitted it out – I gagged. I mourned over my disappointment.It wasn’t worth the pain from the spines.

I was infuriated for oddly I feltbetrayed. I took an axe and struck its trunk. But every time my axe cutsthrough, my heart was also wounded. The tree bled – it bled my tears. I felt soweak from lamenting that I dropped my axe and fell asleep on its roots.

In my dream the tree manifestedhis form. He beamed a smile like a full moon on a clear night sky, my heartmelted. He took me by the hand and embraced me. Despite my vindictiveness, hethanked me for treating him somebody special. Guilt struck me and I feltashamed. I did not know if there was redemption from what I did. I felt that“sorry” wasn’t enough to make up for the pain I had caused him. But still, inan act of desperation, I said I was sorry.

I woke up the next day, the sunshone through. It made me think why I felt betrayed. I was a victim of my owndoing. I expected the tree to bring me sweet and succulent fruit like all theothers in the garden, so much more because I gave it special nurture. Greatexpectations can bring disappointments; I should have hoped, for Hope invitesmiracles.

Days went by. I fought the urgeto water it; it can manage on its own anyway. It was also big enough for theweeds to overcome. The caterpillars became butterflies. I kept my distance,feeling downhearted that I could never partake of the fruits of my specialtree. The aroma of its fruits and the fragrance of its flowers was sweettemptation. One in a while he still flashes his smile at me in my dreams, buteven in my dreams I kept my reservations. I could not look him in the eye.

One morning I curiously noticed thatsquirrels came for its fruits that fell on the ground. For the longest time, I wentnear my special tree anticipating that a falling thorny fruit might hit me onthe head. I noticed the scars on the trunk.

I sat under its shade to observethe fallen fruits. One dropped directly onmy lap. Queerly the spines were not spines anymore but rather they were softand downy. I stood and reached for a fruit, there were no quills anymore. Iopened it, took a small bite. I closed my eyes, enduring the bitterness likecorporal mortification for the pain I caused my tree. But as the flesh stayedlonger on my tongue, it became tangy like peppermint. At times I can tastesomething bitter, then something spicy, then something very sweet. Its flavorwas playful.

I opened my eyes and smiled.

I was filled and satisfied.

Understatement

If only i could lend you my heart
then you would feel how i feel for you
If only i could lend you my mind
then you would know the thoughts I have of you
I want to know you more
I want to participate in your being
But my heart and my mind
can’t be taken from where they are
Thus there is no way you can fully grasp and fathom all these
And so, I resolved myself
by saying an understatement — "I love you."

FRIENDSHIP (exerpts) by Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are two elements that go to the
composition of friendship, each so sovereign
that I can detect no superiority in either, no
reason why either should be first named.
One is Truth. A friend is a person with
whom I may be sincere. Before him I may
think aloud. I am arrived at last in the
presence of a man so real and equal, that I
may drop even those undermost garments of
dissimulation, courtesy, and second thought,
which men never put off, and may deal with
him with the simplicity and wholeness with
which one chemical atom meets another.
Sincerity is the luxury allowed, like diadems
and authority, only to the highest rank, that
being permitted to speak truth, as having
none above it to court or conform unto.
Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance
of a second person, hypocrisy begins. We
parry and fend the approach of our fellowman
by compliments, by gossip, by
amusements, by affairs. We cover up our
thought from him under a hundred folds. Almost every man we
meet requires some civility, — requires to
be humored; he has some fame, some talent,
some whim of religion or philanthropy in his
head that is not to be questioned, and which
spoils all conversation with him. But a
friend is a sane man who exercises not my
ingenuity, but me. My friend gives me
entertainment without requiring any
stipulation on my part. A friend, therefore, is
a sort of paradox in nature. I who alone am,
I who see nothing in nature whose existence
I can affirm with equal evidence to my own,
behold now the semblance of my being, in
all its height, variety, and curiosity,
reiterated in a foreign form; so that a friend
may well be reckoned the masterpiece of
nature.

Hahaiz..LIfe

To Dance:

No Way To Make A Living, Masochism,
Pain, Perfection,
Muscle Spasm, Chiropractors, Short-
Careers, Eating Disorders

To Film:

Adventure, Tedium, No Family, Boring
Locations,
Dark Rooms, Perfect Faces, Egos,
Money, Hollywood And Sleaze

To Music:

Food Of Love, Emotion, Mathematics,
Isolation,
Rhythm, Feeling, Power, Harmony,
And Heavy Competition

To Anarchy:

Revolution, Justice, Screaming For
Solutions,
Forcing Changes, Risk, And Danger
Making Noise And Making Pleasure

To Faggots, Lezzies, Dykes, Cross
Dressers Too:

To Me:

To You, And You And You, You And You
To People living With, Living With,
Living With
Not Dying From Disease:

Let He Among Us Without Sin
Be The First To Condemn

Untitled

With long strides,

Straight Ahead.

Passed by tress,

Leaves a shed.

Cracked pavement,

Flower grows,

Heart pounding,

Moment slows.

Sun glimmers,

Visions glared.

Back on track,

Feelings spared.