College Poetry-The Mid 80s of My Life

It's 2:30 AM says our wall clock and I'm still up. It must be the multicolor capsules I've taken as a cure for this developing flu. So what else to do other than surf the Net? I thought of digging into my college stuff where I found an old pocketbook style notebook. It was where I write and compose poems and jot down ideas that popped out of my restless mind when I was a college editor in late 80s. I came across poems composed by my college buddies Bong, Mandy and Johnathan and myself. Here's one by me which I like to share with everyone:

No Reason To Despair

When darkness falls
Light I shall lit
So eyes shall see
Heart shall beat
and thoughts remain
Focused on triumph
that seem hopeless
Upon forces' stroke
On courage's flame
That should not cease
When forces strong
Raze the flame
For when night falls
In crowning touch
Morning comes

Composed on the night of December 30, 198_

Still digging into my college stuff...Here is another poem:

Eternity

Here we are
In days of rage
Only time can tell
If all be well.
Hush thy words
and ask nothing
For here we live
In endless time.

Still more from my wonderful college notebook. This time, a poem composed for me by a close college friend on the spot while we were hanging out in the college library in the mid-80s:

PLAIN

You can change my world
From the one full of cobwebs
To something worthwhile to live in.
You can change my life
From the one full of anxiety
To something worth living for.
You can fill every emptiness
I feel inside.
You can put all the smiles
Back to my lips once again
You can do all those things...
And I hope you will.

I will change your world
From the one full of cobwebs
To something worthwhile to live in.
I will change your life
From the one full of anxiety
To something worth living for.
I will fill every emptiness
You fill inside.
I will put all those smiles
Back to your lips once again
I will do all those things...
And I hope I can.

by L.M.C.

On Abused Wives, Abusive Husbands

I have just arrived from an audition for a so-called TV plug for a women's desk program of a local channel. The role is that of an abusive husband, a non-psychotic one, I was told by one of the panel. When I was asked to act out using ad lib based on a working script, I admitted it will be difficult for me since I have great respect for women. One of the members of the panel teased me by exclaiming "Laki ka sa Lola mo (you were raised by your grandmother)" and I jokingly said, "Nope. I'm a mama's boy." There was laughter in the hall as the camera went on rolling. The conversation made me comfortable that I started really reading the small piece paper and then suddenly I recalled a real incident where I defended a close family member from a verbal abuse paired with a regular gun shot in the air instigated by her husband. I started recalling his voice and the stance he always had but my role was to be of a more domineering and boastful executive. As I was told to deliver my lines ( where I talk about my wife as a lap dog) talking casually with the two male members of the panel, I felt my left eye brow rise and I felt lines forming on my forehead. I was ready to be mean! The exchanges went on until one of them shouted "Nakakainis ka!" Whew! It was all I could give them for the closest I got to acting was acting in plays for speech and drama classes. This audition was pure fun yet it made me realize and remember that there are many wives who would still fight for their love amidst the pain of the many forms of abuse from their husbands. They may not have realized that such tolerance is already a form of self-abuse. Can we still call it love?

Art as a Poor Imitation

I have always thought that imitation is not flattery. So when I think of doing a photo manipulation similar to the works of Andy Warhol, I tend to become defensive and think of it as inspiration. And honestly, I feel that my Warhol-inspired works are far from excellent. The inspiration I get from Warhol is respect for the artist who lived in a time when digital art was not en vogue. I imagine the effort and time Warhol has to devote on every piece. Amazing! Now, with emergence of a lot of softwares on digital image enhancement, anything is possible.

I still don't know how to draw the line between imitation and inspiration or adaptation. As an artist, if ever I imitate or draw inspiration from known artist, I make sure it is paying homage to his
greatness for nothing is greater than the original.