the lord is risen

glorious triumph over death

prophecy fulfilled

oo0oo

two hours past midnight

i walk home greeting the moon

a happy easter

oo0oo

good lenten reading

offers great food for the soul

the holy bible

oo0oo

day to day crosses

 moments designed to strengthen 

not weaken the soul

oo0oo

a stouthearted bear
sits where my friend used to sit
on late night sharings

oo0oo

 an early morning
bright light enters the window
 the sun on the couch

oo0oo

young coconut frond

stands tall with leaves turned crosses

blessed palm sunday

oo0oo

triumphal entry

holy man in jerusalem

 astride a donkey 

oo0oo

Dreams, dreams, dreams. Who is not fascinated by dreams? After all, no one can deny that we do spend a good amount of time in the dreaming state on most nights when we sleep.

Since recorded history many theories have been proposed as to why dreams exist. However, it seems no consensus has ever been reached yet. To my simple thinking, I guess the answer to it is colored by whatever frame of mind one views it - psychoanalytical, medical, spiritual, or it could perhaps be from a literary point of view.

Freud wrote in a book that dreams are disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes. Whether you agree with him or not is none of my concern. Maybe true in some instances but definitely not in many others. One fact remains beyond argument - that  dreams are oftentimes not remembered with clarity. Lucky for those who can, if the dream is filled with joyful emotions. But, lucky still for those who can't, if the dream is filled with frightening imagery. 

Prolonging a beautiful dream is something I wish I can do. Having it interrupted by an external stimuli, much more ruptured or prematurely ended and eventually forgotten,  is so frustrating. It can even be maddening!

 early morning rain

 drowns my beautiful dream

 not a scene remains

oo0oo

the rain wakes me up

with its spatter on rooftops

 dream whispers goodbye

up on a ladder
i swim in the sweet fragrance

of ylang-ylang

oo0oo

fragrance transported

freshly picked ylang-ylang

inside our guest room

oo0oo

sea of clouds above

captured on a glass window

perfect mini sky

oo0oo

a mantle of clouds

looks down upon the green leaves

where is the sun?

oo0oo

Framed in the picture  below are  two doggies...not mine. They belong to a  family close  to my heart.  How I  love  to see these cute furry beings smooching or just playing around. Although they are of different breeds, the warmth of their affection for each other is clearly displayed. Do they have fights? Perhaps. Over food maybe or attention given. Makes me pause and reflect on the sad reality of racial discrimination so blatantly practiced in some parts of our planet. Why can't love just prevail?

a cute furry ball

two beings so much in love

 scene tickles me pink

oo0oo

of different breeds

but how they love each other

two smooching doggies


oo0oo

Near our gate is an ylang-ylang tree. It has been there for years - eight or perhaps even ten. A few branches have already extended beyond our fence. Since it started producing flowers it has never stopped, all year round that is. Sometimes the branches are so laden with flowers that  its fragrance  reaches one's nose  even twenty meters away. No wonder people walking down our street turn their heads, seemingly looking around for the source of the fragrance. Once found, these passersby freely pluck  a few blossoms within their reach to carry with them home.

 summer afternoon

passersby carry with them

fragrance of our tree

oo0oo

half moon above me

i sneeze at the gentle breeze

waft of fragrant air


oo0oo

When I saw this picture of three lovely gumamela flowers, I couldn't help seeing myself in it with my two sisters - one elder and the other younger. It brought back sweet memories of good times we spent together during our childhood  years. Along with this reminiscence came the memory of our beloved mom.  How she showered us with pretty clothes she herself designed and sewed on her old sewing machine.

Up to this day my mom's instruction remains vivid in my mind. Before we were allowed to wear a new dress to school we had to wear it to church first. Why, we never dared or cared to ask. How we wanted to show off each new dress to school. But, obedient children we were, we simply followed her without complain. After all,  a mother should know better than her young daughters. It was much later that I got to understand her. She must have regarded it as a dedication of her labor of love to the Lord. 

Thank you mom for all the love and the memories!

beautiful sisters

display their lovely dresses

hawaiian party

oo0oo

skirts so colorful

remind me of my childhood

mom and my sisters

oo0oo

window on the ground

allows no view what's under

just like a closed mind

oo0oo

silently it pleads

empty space on a green lawn

fill me up with love

oo0oo

a view of the sky

from the confines of a room

small and limited

oo0oo

an afternoon sky

snowy white clouds invite me

to finish my tea

oo0oo

Morning walks for me offer diverse pleasures. It is during these times that all my senses but one are so actively involved. I see, I hear, I smell, and I touch. Although I used to have my walks only around the house, my senses never fail to take pleasure in whatever nature has to offer. The blue sky with snowy white or grayish clouds, the sounds of birds chirping or puppies barking, the fragrance of roses or ilang ilang flowers, the feel of morning dew on leaves or of the wind kissing my face - all these always find their way to my soul. 

A few minutes into my walk this very morning I was treated to a seldom seen view across the sky - a jet plane passing by. It flew so swiftly, as of course it should, leaving a long trail of smoke which seemed so straight for a few seconds. Against a background of a clear blue sky, the white smoke really stood out before my eyes. Wanting to capture the rare scene I hurried inside to get my cellphone. To my dismay, the trail had already started  breaking. Even then I still took a shot and was rewarded by an added joy - a solitary bird perching on a cable. 

straight when i saw it

crooked when i captured it

smoke trail of jet plane 

oo0oo

crooked broken line

stream of white clouds they are not

trail of metal bird

oo0oo

bird chooses a wire

not a tree branch to perch on

no one else notice

oo0oo

A few years back we had a dog who answered to the name Rakim. Rakim was a dachshund. Being one, he was short-legged but long-bodied and muscular. How I loved to stroke his head which carried a lovely pair of big, dangling ears. We had him only for a while - less than two years if I remember it right. One morning we were just shocked to find him laying stiff, his mouth bubbling. We theorized that he must have been bitten by a snake or a centipede while enjoying his sleep. Poor dog!

After Rakim's sudden death we never had another dog until just recently. For one thing, I didn't want to take the risk of my twin grandsons getting bitten. Then free from that risk, (my grandsons, with their mom, have joined my son in the U.S.) the idea of having another dog was more or less already welcome. 

One day last January a cousin on my hubby's side showed up at our gate with a box. Surprisingly, inside the box were two frail beings curled up in hunger  after a long trip from a town some 50 kilometers away. They've just found a new home away from their  mom and siblings. 

So, now we have not just one but two puppies to litter around the house. Hopefully before year end, we will have two mighty guards watching over our place.

so affectionate
chubby one hugs the other
pink flowers watching


oo0oo

across the front yard

puppies run around with glee
a leaf in each mouth


oo0oo


pleasantly tickled
two puppies hugging my legs 
makes me miss my twins


oo0oo

Becoming a blogger never crossed my mind until twenty months after my retirement as a Math teacher. As I have expressed in my maiden post last February 1, it was the insistent prodding of a friend that gave birth to haiku lanes. To her I owe so much - the challenge, the inspiration, and her faith in me.

As a neophyte, with a very minimal exposure to blogs before, I sure went through days of doubt whether my blog will attract visitors. Seeing just a few friends visiting in the first week of its run was honestly weakening my guts. But as the days and weeks  moved on I saw the increasing figures in my stats. I felt more challenged to continue. Friends, kin, former students and associates, my friends' friends and kin and even unknown people from other countries. I draw inspiration from their visits. 

This morning as I was facing my dashboard to check my stats, an astounding fact captured my attention. It made my eyes open wide as in disbelief. Barely six weeks since I started haiku lanes, getting 173 pageviews in a day is just so overwhelming - 104 from my very own country and 69 from foreign shores. Could not suppress a wow ! It maybe such a small thing for seasoned bloggers; but, for one who is only six weeks in the blogging world, it's a whale lot!

makes you smile or frown

whatever they represent

numbers in one's life

oo0oo

inspiring numbers

pageviews on my stats today

i feel ten feet tall!

oo0oo

Every time a fully grown and mature fruit tree is on its way to bearing fruit, one always sees first thousands of flowers decorate its branches. Hundreds of them are blown by the wind. Still, many of those who have weathered the wind cannot resist the quivering of branches as birds come to perch.

Lucky for those who make it to the first  month. And yet, not all are destined to maturity. Nature takes its course in the guise of the wind and the birds. Perhaps it's a way of countering overpopulation - ensuring that what remains will grow healthy for humans, kids and adults alike, to munch. Rose apples, or tambis in our local dialect, are no exception.

a heap of cute bells

their lives cut short by the birds

can't see them turn pink

oo0oo

cream colored bells lay

mourning for their lives just snatched

by the cruel wind

oo0oo

they failed to make it

helpless baby rose apples 

the broom does its job

oo0oo

I would like to recall one morning sometime last February - a morning when the sun was so shy to come out of the horizon.  The sky was so covered with gray clouds. Sporadic drizzles came and finally the rain. Feeling lazy to do anything productive, I decided to spend my time at our covered terrace just looking at my surroundings and listening to the chirping of birds.

My cell phone rang.  It was from a friend – a special friend and my almost daily chatmate,  located in the wilderness (her description). A message in haiku! Joyfully taking the bait, I replied in haiku.  And that started our exchange for the next hundred minutes. It was a unique way of updating ourselves with the current happenings in each other's current world. We enjoyed the exchange so much and even jokingly labelled it a “haiku war”. Of course in between the haiku poems were lively comments and laughter. I can shout to the world that it surely made our day! 

Confronted with the challenge to make a daily post, and caught with so many concerns for the day that night came with not a single haiku spun, my cell phone came to my rescue. Good thing I had that “war” kept in my chat box. Too precious to delete. So, with my friend's permission, here I am sharing it in this blog. 

a haiku war

Friend   :        running  through the rain                                                    

                       a girl in yellow raincoat 
                       laughs like morning sun

Me         :       lingering in bed
                       circles of water i see
                       through a window blade

Friend    :       some kids braved the rain
                       soaked to the skin, unperturbed
                       but how can that be?

Me         :        oh that bird again
                       my early morning delight
                       twig shakes as it leaves

Friend    :       through the foggy fields
                       then to hazy mountain side
                       a hawk disappeared

Me         :       grayish is the sky
                       promise of a drab morning
                       coffee smells so good

Friend    :       used to be just one
                       now there's a couple of them
                       egrets in the yard

Me         :        rain, rain, and more rain
                       pools of water surround us
                       tank overflowing               

Friend    :       the fog is thinning
                       sun's persistence struggling through
                       but then, so does rain

Me         :        a favorite perch
                       of a number of small birds
                       tv antenna

Friend    :       on the other side
                       battle between sun and rain
                       remains to be seen.

Me         :       wind getting colder
                      and seemingly stronger too
                      branches wildly dance

Friend    :       firewood is crackling
                       a sight and smell that i love
                       oh that homey fire

Me         :       eraserheads singing
                       two puppies so entertained
                       facing amplifier

Friend    :       under a table
                       a bundle of firewood lay
                       i need a broomstick

Me         :        legs, feet getting cold
                       puppies scratching and licking
                       giggles can't resist
   

Me         :        wind getting calmer
                        swaying branches calmer too
                        will the sun smile soon?

Friend    :        can't say sun's winning
                        until it comes shining through
                        till sky becomes blue

Much as we wanted to continue something came up so, our exchange had to end.
  

A few meters away from our fence is  a neighbor's talisay tree. Just like a few other trees, acacia and mahogany among them, a talisay tree sheds off its aged leaves periodically. From a thick canopy of green months ago, colors dramatically change as the dry season ushers in.

Yesterday morning, pausing from my walk around the house and looking up, a spectacle of reddish brown leaves, some in intensifying shades of orange, met my eyes. I stood  there for minutes,  magnetized by what I thought was a beautiful sight to capture in my mind. Not long after, with just a soft whisper of the wind, leaves started to fall. The next minute was a magical moment. The wind blew harder and leaves came cascading down - dancing, hugging and kissing other leaves, seemingly enjoying their freedom, before finally touching ground. What a sight to behold!

Looking at a balding talisay tree triggers poignant memories of my teaching stint in The Big Apple. How I used to be mesmerized by the magical panorama of trees bragging of multicolored leaves during autumn - a scenery that never fails to create stirrings in my soul.

thick and green before

now shades of brown and orange

is it autumn here?

oo0oo



"time has claimed our youth"

the leaves comfort each other
new life will begin

oo0oo

The hibiscus flower is known as gumamela here in the Philippines. Just like in other countries they come in different shapes and colors - yellow, red, pink, white, orange in varying shades. We see their petals slowly open up as dawn creeps in with the first light of the day. By the time the sun is up they are already beaming with full radiant smiles. Very showy indeed! Sadly though, they start to wither with the setting of the sun. The smile of the day turns into a frown as dusk sets in - the time when each flower slowly closes its petals as it bids goodbye to the sun. How I wish the flowers can last for days like roses do. 

lasting with the sun
 smile of a gumamela
passing yet filling


oo0oo


oh gumamela
the sun smiles and you smile back
why not with the moon?


oo0oo

A countryside tour in Bohol is not complete without a cruise along the Loboc River. Tourists on board floating restaurants are treated not just to a sumptuous buffet lunch but also to a vista of lush vegetation of palms , coconut trees, and bushes. Young boys swimming in the river and people  passing by on small boats may just be ordinary scenes. However, the spectacle of boys diving from a leaning coconut tree, from a point no less than 10 meters above the water, will really take your breath away.

The river cruise winds up near the Busay Falls and makes a turn around. On the way back tourists are entertained to a mini-cultural show of songs and dances by local people - young and old, housed in  a floating cottage. Not a few tourists join in  the dancing with the performers.

To those of you who have Bohol in your travel plans, don't ever miss the Loboc River Cruise.

a floating resto
cruises on blue green water
people speak in tongues


oo0oo


a breath of fresh air

cruising along the river

 fearless boy dives

oo0oo                                           

 can't resist the wind

time for leaves to say goodbye

cement path says hi

oo0oo

final days over

like leaves of autumn they fall 
the wind victorious

Our beautiful province of Bohol is blessed with one of nature's wonders. A flagship tourist destination, and undeniably the most famous attraction Bohol can offer, is the world renowned Chocolate Hills.

Four legends vie to explain the formation of these conical hills. My favorite is one with a romantic tone. It says that thousands of years ago a powerful giant fell in love with an ordinary mortal girl. The death of his ladylove caused him such pain that he cannot stop crying. The tears that he shed dried up and formed into hills. 

Any scientific explanation? Geologists are still wondering how they came about. However, a commonly accepted theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of an impermeable layer of clay.

Why the name Chocolate Hills? Actually, their color is green during the wet season. As the dry season begins the grasses slowly turn brown. More weeks of exposure to the sun makes them turn chocolate brown. Hence, the name. It is during these times that they look like giant Hershey kisses, without the wrapping!

tears of a giant

mourning for his ladylove 

memory remains

oo0oo

nature played a game

lo and behold breast-shaped hills 

 caressed by the sun

oo0oo

conical earth mounds 
shout proudly to the whole world
we're nowhere else found!

oo0oo

fresh flower bouquet

she holds with smiles so radiant

the groom is waiting

oo0oo

clasping a bouquet
she walks, heart throbbing with joy
mama sheds a tear


oo0oo

 morning scene greets me

yard littered with rose apples

wish they were nuggets

oo0oo

no invitation

night creatures feast on rose apples

morning evidence

oo0oo

People vary in preferences when considering a bed. Wooden bed, steel bed, bamboo bed, water bed,  air bed, or what not. Some would go for a thick and firm mattress. Others would rather have a  soft version. Yet, there are those who prefer sleeping on a bed without any mattress on it. Still, not a few would settle for a night on the floor with simply a mat laid, with or without a mattress. It really doesn't matter for dreams still come regardless of the kind of bed one sleeps on. What about you? Whatever your preference is, this fact is beyond question. Money can buy a bed but not sleep. And I mean naturally induced sleep!

Yesterday's post was about a domesticated cat. For today, I am presenting another scene - that of a humble cat. His preference for a bed is just so unique that I can't allow it to leave my memory without sharing it in this blog.

cat sleeps undisturbed

in his private cubicle

a coconut husk

oo0oo


so snugly settled
cat sleeps in coconut husk
no cares for the world


oo0oo


no room for one more
cat inside coconut husk
declares silently.


oo0oo

Here in the Philippines cats are not as domesticated as those in foreign countries. Pet dogs far outnumber pet cats. Some families though, with room and funds,  have both. Seeing cats inside the living quarters of a home, feeling like members of the family, is for me a delightful experience. A visit to a friend's house offered me one such experience. And who says rocking chairs are for grannies?

 tomcat smells fried fish              

and surveys the round table

the rocking chair rocks

oo0oo

as the soft wind blows
a male cat on rocking chair
sniffs something fragrant

oo0oo

cat feels like a king
the rocking chair for his throne
the house...his palace

oo0oo

Last Saturday, I took time out with my son to visit a friend. What fun we had picking guavas right from the tree in their front yard. I remember the excitement of seeing the ripe fruits, in light shades of yellow and evergreen, dangling before my eyes! It seemed like I was transported by a time machine to my early teenage years - those times when I go out with playmates to climb hills where guava trees abound. 

-

picking ripe guavas

takes me back to childhood years

saturdays were fun

oo0oo

excited to pick

ripe guavas right from the tree

i'm a child once more