Twilight of Choices

Twenty-Eleven...

the twilight of choices - here -

we define the road.

The way ahead - though -

not so often clear on earth

is written above.

You should know

it by heart.

---<--@

Is it the dawn of the new morning

or is it the dusk of another long night?

THE LONGEST NIGHT

The Day once forsaken shatters into Night -
Light turns into darkness.

And the night can not get much darker.

But the darkness itself
once the Light of Day is forgotten
and the hearts of the children of Mankind
is overtaken by the emptiness,
amidst the long march of exile time,
can deepen into madness -

Hurling into the gravity of oblivion
the void that once was -
the nations of our needful Mankind.
---<--@

Milky Way Road

The road up ahead

unknown to all but myself

stretches out of sight.

I look behind me

into the void as I walk

the Milky Way Road.

Up ahead of me

in the distant horizon

heaven and earth meet.

I walk on

to the stars.

---<--@

Per Ardua ad Astra - Through Adversity to the Stars

This is the motto of the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth Air Forces particularly the Royal Australian Air Force.

Crocodile Hunter

Steve-O, you showed us

that conservation is fun,

and proved that it's true.

Love of nature - is -

brave, and kind, and cheerful.

Cheerful most of all.

Fair dinkum,

distinct, mate.

---<--@

Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin (19620222-20060904 in the line of Conservation, of love of nature and Country) - citizen of creation, defender of the cause of Sacred Life, true blue son of Australia, father, husband, mate, thanks and Godspeed.

Personal Reflection -

I think those who live to give are those who never really leave us. This is true not because their fate is sad but because their legacy is glad.

What happened to Steve was so sudden, it made me really sad. And knowing how tightly knit Australia is, I know his loss would be felt by the whole Country - especially his family and his daughter, Bindi.

But when I think about it more, I realize this -

We all have a destiny to bring about, that something good to leave for this world, and I think Steve gave us the full measure of his work.

For this we should be glad.

Aurora Australis

I love Australia -

the distinct quality of her

I learned to know well.

Australia's different -

as each Country must be so,

people, problems, all.

Australia taught me

many a thing - first mateship,

then fairness, and nature.

Qualities I love

because they have become mine.

And so, I'm grateful.

And so I

remember.

---<--@

The Southern Lights, have you really seen it?

Tita Cor

The heart of Country

is our unity, our Peace -

t'is worth defending!

Our Republic has

a heart, tita, you restored -

may we remember!

Thy heart of

unity.

---<--@

Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (19330125-20090801 peaceably recalled by God, of natural causes) 11th President of the one Republic of the Philippines, a most honorable Filipino statesman, heart of the EDSA Revolution, Icon of Democracy, wife, mother, inspiration - via con Dios!

Today is the 2nd year anniversary of her passing...

She may not be perfect, this is true. But without her, as one can plainly observe in our world today, we would find ourselves in a very different place in time.

An Office is a lineage of persons.

May we truly let go of the sins of our nation's past, may Justice abide in our Republic that good may flourish and evil fade away, may the LORD, our God, forgive us and release our present generations from the pain of all our past hurts, may He grant us peace. AMEN.

Corazon is Spanish for "heart".

Ninoy

When I think about

Ninoy, I think of father -

a heart, brave and true.

I think of struggle

and the virtues it requires -

that which makes us free...

thy soul of

bravery.

---<--@

Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. (19322711-19830821 of valor and love of Country) - a most honorable Filipino statesman, hero of the one Filipino nation, martyred scion of the one Republic of the Philippines, a star among stars in the skies above my nation - via con Dios!

Mang Bab

I miss you, Mang Bab!

You're one of my favorite stars.

And one of a kind.

How can I forget

that chin and that face, I smile.

Your style is your own.

Salamat,

Babalu.

---<--@

Pablito Sarmiento, Jr. (19420220-19980827 peaceably recalled by God, of natural causes) a most beloved Filipino comedian - thanks for the laughter and the fun - via con Dios!

There is a kind of bravery in humor. The kind that reminds us of our own humble humanity.

Tempest

Sometimes you're floating

in a sea of temptations -

afraid, in the dark.

You grin and bear it.

And hold out against the storm.

By the thinnest threads.

And it ends.

And you're back.

---<--@

The Tempest

Just as every storm has a duration.

Every temptation has a limit.

A limit set by God, so as to challenge the soul,

and not to defeat it.

To reach this limit is the task of patience.

To fall short of this limit, more so.

Our spirit becomes stronger in its flight

- ever by the grace of our God -

when we, despite ourselves,

constantly reach out for the calm we know is out there,

beyond the tempest.

To endure the tempest constantly

is the domain of holy perseverance.

And holy perseverance brings us home to God.

- selah -

"Do not bring us to the test,

but deliver us from evil."

AMEN.

Abigail

You were so tiny

when you started out in "Signs"

not so long ago...

Years are a measure

of maturity not age -

listen, learn, love, grow.

Be happy,

dear Abbie.

---<--@

I believe in you.

The Chase

- from a friend

The story is told about a young lion that asked his mother: “Where is happiness?”

The mother lion responded: “On your tail.”

Upon hearing this, the young lion started chasing his tail, and spent the whole day doing so.

Seeing the young lion tired and exhausted, the mother lion said: “Son, you don’t chase happiness. Just keep moving forward, and your happiness will follow.”

- selah -

Of course, in your case Abbie, this story would be about a young lioness...

You know, a lot of things can be said about making the wrong choices... the problem is when we don't say them (even to ourselves).

Everybody wants to be happy. But no one knows how to get there. So we sort of stumble into happiness, we try to define it. And when we are wrong we get devastated.

So many people in your profession are trying to find happiness in the wrong places. I should know, I've been in some of those...

So go and be happy, dear Abbie - grow up with grace and let happiness come to you.

God bless you and your generation, Starshine.

Princess Alex

Pretty purrrincess -

energetic but fragile

like a flower, soft.

Sweet and brave, seeming,

yet often vulnerable...

you take care, you cat.

May you find

your true prince.

---<--@

I wish you well, you cat.

Skyla

Skyla is a cat.

Strong and sunny is this one.

Funny and crazy.

I feel her brightness.

Not sharp, but soft and aglow.

She's Starla's sister.

Her earth name

is Sheena.

---<--@

I wish you well, you cat.

My Ate Mane

My Ate Mane

is a down-to-earth person,

real as real can be.

She is an artist

with a passion for her art;

a wife and mother.

Above all,

she's fam'ly.

---<--@

Two less lonely people in the world...

Happy birthday, Kirk!

Now, this is what I mean when I say that

my ate and my kuya are real stars -

Real Stars

Some stars are fake, some are real -

of the fake ones, the heart can feel,

because of the real ones,

when one can tell -

it's their nearness to our earth

that makes it sell.

Real stars shine with a warmth

that often reaches us

and are full of genuine concern

but fake ones really don't connect

as much as we would like,

their light is not as warm and comforting

as far as the heart can tell

they could be as far from our earth

as heaven is to hell.

=^.^=

21st Century AFP

Meaningful service

to the Republic is the

defense of its life.

Peace is thy mission;

that which preserves and prospers

the nation - defend!

Committed.

Battlestrong!

---<--@

Go Team AFP!

The First Talk

We are the first talk.

At the dawn of All Creation -

one song of glory!

A prayer to God

unbroken since time began

in the Silence heard.

A song of greatness,

devoted hymns of gladness

amidst the darkness...

A song of praises,

bursting forth in wondrous rhyme -

the timeless in time!

Everywhere rising!

All creation is talking

without words to God.

A song of wonder

preserved through faded Eden

unbroken by War.

We are the first talk.

At the dawn of Salvation -

one song of glory!

May you hear

the first talk.

---<--@

Will of the Wanderer

With every life, there is a longing
and within each heart, it is felt,
because there is within each soul,
an absence, mysterious and sublime -
like a truth, cloaked in questions,
like a desire within a desire.

In an unfamiliar, uncaring earth,
amidst the wilderness of this world,
it draws us near to familiar things.

Under unknowing, unfeeling skies,
among empty shells of broken dreams,
it knowingly leads us along safe paths.

With every dawning, it recalls us;
for our labors, it rewards us;
when we are at rest, it reminds us;
during mealtimes, it welcomes us;
when we are at play, it guards us;
with every prayer, it blesses us;
with every good, it leads us;
when we repent, it teaches us;
when we forgive, it forgives us;
when we grieve, it consoles us;
when we rejoice, it hears us;
when we sleep, it renews us;
when we fail, it tempers us;
when we forget, it remembers us;
when we succeed, it preserves us;
when we seek, it find us;
at every trial, it fortifies us;
from all evil, it delivers us;
at all times, it keeps us;
throughout our days, it sustains us;
and in eternity, it recognizes us -
for by our names, it knows us.

It is that which stirs from within,
that which calls us to remembrance
that which in stillness is stillness sought
that which loves our needful mankind
that which completes, makes whole
that which deeply yearns -
for the absent heart of humanity.

Bereft of answers, lacking in truth
forlorn of strength, exiles to destiny -
where there is a seeking for solace:
It remind us of our life's purpose;
an awakening that patiently waits
in the abode of the true self -
like the quiet to calm the storm.

It is the peace at every journey's end,
the Heart at the heart of all creation,
calling the wandering will back home.
---<--@