MEMORIAL

Tucked in the woods, by an abandoned rural road, a little old cemetery lies.  About fifty weathered gravestones rise from the wildflower and grass-covered ground.  Nobody visits the place.  After all, the most recent gravestone was placed in the early 1900’s. However, when Memorial Day comes, new flags fly in the graveyard, specifically by the

A LULLABY NIGHT

I have sung all the lullabies I know. I have told and re-told his favorite stories. My voice is tired, my eyelids droop, and still, my toddler wiggles and squiggles in my arms. He would not sleep. I pray a silent prayer, he pokes my lips driving his little finger against my teeth. My disapproving

WHERE IS HOME? (a Haibun)

The other day, my nephew posted pictures of decorative structures that he and his friends have set up in my old hometown. While the change was aesthetically pleasing, something clicked inside me: Bayanan, my hometown, is gone. Bayanan has changed a lot in the years I have been away. The sleepy barrio is gone, replaced

THE SCENT OF A ROSE

Her fragrance was one I could only dream of when I was young. Though the smell of Ylang-ylang and Rosal, more popularly known as Gardenia, infused the air around me, still I longed for the scent of a rose. Yes, roses grew in our area, but they did not have that rose smell that I

CHERRY BLOSSOMS

After a rainy spell, I stepped into the sunshine of a spring afternoon  to go to the blooming cherry tree near the city green which was about a mile away. I did not particularly relish walking on city roads, busy as they were even on a Sunday afternoon. Fear of getting run over by oncoming

SANTA CLAUS OF THE STREETS

Two Sundays ago, my little son and I went for a walk to the city Green to watch the Christmas display. While admiring the gigantic Santa statue, two strangers approached us. The first man was somebody we met earlier on our way to the Green and who expressed pleasure at seeing us again. Meanwhile, I

BECAUSE … (A Haibun)

“Vanity of vanity. All is vanity,” so says the prophet Qohelet in the Book of Ecclesiastes about  life. It does seem like life is all about chasing the wind. There are days when, saddled with the routine of everyday, I find myself engrossed in an internal conversation about existence. How do I reconcile the repetitive

GOLDEN LIGHT (WPC: Ooh, Shiny!)

The sun, slanting in the horizon, always gives me pause. In the mornings, the rising sun casts mysterious shadows on the ground. In late afternoons, the glowing sunlight in the backyard casts a golden glow on the grass, the wire fence, and the tiny insects buzzing around. When I can, I head out to the

THROUGH THE WOODS, INTO THE RIVER

Sunday afternoons bring our family to a State Park for our weekly walk. Last Sunday, my husband drove us to Sweets Knoll State Park in Dighton. That the park had access to the Taunton River made all of us excited to visit it. As soon as we got to the path to the woods, the

ORDINARY MIRACLES

The old path offers nothing new. I have been in this place several times before. Still,  I have to be careful – between the network of exposed tree roots, the steep terrain, and the narrowness of the path – I could not afford to not pay attention. I am here to walk and to spend