Karla Angela P. Tolarba

BSed 2-N

We Have Come Home

- Lenrie Peters

We have come home
From the bloodless wars
With sunken hearts
Our booths full of pride-
From the true massacre of the soul
When we have asked
‘What does it cost
To be loved and left alone’

We have come home
Bringing the pledge
Which is written in rainbow colours
Across the sky-for burial
But is not the time
To lay wreaths
For yesterday’s crimes,
Night threatens
Time dissolves
And there is no acquaintance
With tomorrow

The gurgling drums
Echo the stars
The forest howls
And between the trees
The dark sun appears.

We have come home
When the dawn falters
Singing songs of other lands
The death march
Violating our ears
Knowing all our loves and tears
Determined by the spinning coin

We have come home
To the green foothills
To drink from the cup
Of warm and mellow birdsong
‘To the hot beaches
Where the boats go out to sea
Threshing the ocean’s harvest
And the hovering, plunging
Gliding gulls shower kisses on the waves

We have come home
Where through the lightening flash
And the thundering rain
The famine the drought,
The sudden spirit
Lingers on the road
Supporting the tortured remnants
of the flesh
That spirit which asks no favour
of the world
But to have dignity.

Will there be a rainbow to the bullet of a bloodless war?

Have you ever experienced being dominated? Abused by others?

The feeling of being a slave is not as easy as we think. During the war of colonialism, African people had been traded for goods. They have been an exchange though there have been no action guns fired but they served as a bullet during those times. The slaves had been the gunpowder, wine and sugar. Their lives were traded for this base offering. They suffered much from the true massacre of the soul.

Until now slavery in different ways still exist. Many suffered hardships. They’ve been used for pleasure, for entertainment, for abundance. They’ve been in bondage that others can’t see. Like Africans, Filipinos during the colonialism experienced the same way. All who suffered from the colonialist would feel the same way. I can imagine what these victims felt and how they suffered from the hand of those people who has no mercy.

Slavery is a real existing dilemma that many had been through.

But, along the circumstances they suffered from there lays a pledge written in rainbow colours. A rainbow which symbolizes equality and they come home representing oneness. Still there is a hope that in spite of the diversities in colors there will be equality that will exist.

After all they have come home though they see little that pleases them outside the natural scenery. They have come home where the lightning flash and the thundering rain, the famine, the drought do not bring down the spirit of the man whose flesh is tortured beyond support but of his spirit. And the reason his spirit lives on is the hope of the eternal cry of the Africans; to have dignity!..

Ma. Jessca Angela C. Tinay

The Importance of Culture

When I first read the title, "The Husband is Mine", I thought that it's more kind of a scene or drama in television where temptation and the presence of a mistress is there, but I was wrong when I read the the story. The story is really about a husband w

And wife who really loved each other but the sister of the wife really envied her because she married a wealthy man and is financially capabled and that's why she is also jealous with her sister.

We all know that marriage is very important in a relationship specially if you have decided to live as one or as a husband and wife. I've seen in this story that the Africans also have a ceremony for marriage and they a5so have customs and beliefs

about certain things for example is when a woman enters a man's house and he has carnal knowledge of her, she automatically becomes his wife. In my opinion, this ir ir a rin because the sisteq of the wife was married and had reven children. But i am

not saying that they should change that because it's their own culture.

The story is about jealousy,envy,marriage and love. Jealousy and envy bcause the sister of the wife was very in se2ured of marrying a man who was rich. She alwys compared her husband

to the husband of the wife and the kind of status they had in their life because they don't really have much money and they have many children to take care of.

The sanctity of marriage here was not given much importance bcause when the wife died, the

husband made the sister of his wife as his second wife regardless of the fact that he knew that the sister of his wife was also married with ano ther man. Love was shown between the husband and the wife especially when the wife was still alive

Education is really important to them. We can see it in the story when the husband said to his wife that it is better to have only two children so that their education will be sustained. They are same with us because education really is the key to

a better future.

I think the author was trying to describe the customs and beliefs of the Africans in this story, "The Husband is Mine". Tie author did a great job of having their traditions in this story to be clearly understood them by people especially

for those people who read this story.

With their customs and beliefs,we have similarities with them like having a great importance of education or valuing the essence of education, having a good realationship of the wife and

wife and husband and n

husband and of course having an affair with someone who also has a wife or husband

The only thing that i can say about this is that we should not be jealous and envy someone for having something that we don't have. We should always be contented and we

should work hard to achieve something that we want. Let's not be like the sister who was desperate to get the husband even if she knew that she had a husband and children and a responsibility to take care of her children. Let's always be thankful and be

responsible of what we have and of what is to come

Shane Mae Suruiz                                       BSEd II-N

A Foot Has No Nose

                The story is about a mother and a daughter who always invite passing work-seekers to their house for a meal. It upsets the daughter so much whenever her mother instructs her to invite the passing work-seekers, make an open fire outside, and cook for them at midday in that intense heat. Her mother is aware of her behavior so she talked to her after serving their guests. She said ""Lonao ga lo na nko" - "A foot has no nose". It means: you cannot detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.

                The daughter realized that it may have happened that, in her travels some time in the future, she would found herself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame her, her mother continued: "Motho ke motho ka motho yo mongwe". The literal meaning: "A person is a person because of another person".

                This story is very meaningful. It tells us that we should be good to everyone because we will never know when we would need other’s help, too. Helping is a good way to show our care for others. We must help people wholeheartedly. If we are just forced to do so, then it’s better if we won’t help at all.

                They say that it is better to give than to receive. Well, I don’t have anything against it. In fact, I strongly agree. When you are the receiver, then it just means that you don’t have any of it and so you are in need of it. When you give, it means that you are, maybe not in a good state, but in a BETTER state. There’s a difference, of course. In the story, the mother loves showing her care for others, while the daughter isn’t in the same boat as her mother...maybe because she hasn’t realized it yet. For me, the best way to understand such situations is to put your feet in their shoes. By that, you can feel what they might feel and at that moment.

                When I finished reading the story, I can somehow relate to the daughter. I usually sulk when my mom tells me to do things I don’t even understand why I have to do it. I will only know when she already reprimanded me of my annoying behavior.

                I also contemplated about what I used to do with our student teachers way back in high school. I was really guilty when I thought about that and I’m afraid that it may also happen to me once I get into the field. I regret doing those things especially now that know I already know how hard it is. So now, I therefore conclude, it takes one to know one.

Jerry Finn P. Ruivivar

Bsed 2-N

Love is Happiness

In everyone's life there are different experiences. One of them is falling in love. Many would say falling in love is one of the merriest feelings of all. Others would also say it feels like heaven when you fell in love with someone. But what if someone or other people try to hinder your fairy tale love story? Will it still be the same feeling that you will feel?

Love. Love. Love. A thing I really can relate to. But before I over power this essay with my very dramatic love story, I would like to clarify that this essay is still about my realizations and insights regarding my discussion on Life in Our Village by Matei Markwei which is an easily understood, childlike, loosely rhyming poem that expresses a universal truth about youthful love. After I read and analyzed the poem, I realized how much love influences the happiness of the youths being referred in the poem. I therefore concluded that it is through love that they become happier. Well I guess it’s normal. Everybody wants to be happy in this world. But there are only few people who are happy because of love. Just take a glimpse of our society nowadays. Some people believe that wealth provides happiness. They spend most of their time acquiring it. But wealth does not guarantee happiness. It only gives the basic amenities and materialistic comforts of life. There are also people who seek for happiness in sex, drinks (alcohol) and drugs. They try to find delight through such things. These things may help to forget their worries for a limited time but not forever. Same in the poem, we can clearly see that no matter how the elders hinder or manipulate the actions of the youths, the latter will still find way(s) to meet up and make love (in a positive aspect). The elders might be the cause of the temporary absence of happiness in the youths' life but love is strong not to surpass those challenges. It can be affirmed by one line in the poem – "but humanity is weak so boys and girls meet". It is only the "today" that the elders have in their control; the youths still hold the "forever". A forever wherein they can be together with peace.

Love should be practiced without any selfish motives. If we see other people loving and being loved by others, we should not be jealous because jealousy is one of the agents of death instead we should respect them and just be happy for them.

Jonnah Rebadajo

BSEd II-N

That Same Night

That same night is a story of a woman who, maybe, fell in love or was attracted to a man. On that night when they met, many things happened. She felt happy with the man and on that same night, she was betrayed and left by the man.

In my opinion, the story is about prostitution. The woman in the story is a prostitute wherein she was given money just to give pleasure to a man. The lines “He picked me along the way”, “I looked forward to his nightly play” and “He denied me my pay” clearly shows that she was engaged in prostitution. She is willing to give that man his wants but he must pay her with money. Prostitution is still an illegal job that is still present this time. And I believe that there are some women engaged in prostitution, who, in the end of the game of two is still defeated and is fooled by many men who only wanted their service. Poverty is one of the causes of prostitution. Just to gain money, many people, mostly women including the character in the poem (used as a representation of women engaged in the said job) are selling their body and dignity. One night with a man who only wants your service and your body and eventually will dump you without giving the money that you need is the most dreadful situation that a woman can experience.

Source: http://www.africanwriterstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/suubi.pdf

Title: That Same Night by Elone N. Ainebyoona

         ANALIZA RANESES        BSED II-N         

                              Every day is a gift from God. New day is a new life. People have the opportunity to change and correct their mistakes. I can say that it’s a miracle from God. Why? Because God can take away your life when you are asleep and vulnerable and yet He still gives you chance to live and experience the beauty of life.

                                                                                                

                               The poem ‘Salutation to the Dawn’ by Kalidasa reminds me of life. “Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life” is one of the lines that tells me that there is more than life than we see it today and we can put our own meaning into it. We are the one who makes it happy, sad or complicated. We make our life. It is depended to the person if what life he chose to have.  “Look well, therefore, to this day! Such is the salutation to the dawn”--- a line which says a brand new day has come and I want to welcome it with open arms.

                

                                I don’t know much about India but after I’ve read this poem I can say that they value life so much and is contended with what life brings. For me, life is the most precious gift from God. Living a life with the people who cared for me and loved me as much as themselves is really His gift.  He always gave me to the right people. I know I can’t have a second life or a third but I can proudly say that being with my family, my friends, and my special someone is what life really comprises. It’s all about love. Many problems will come our way and the past will always hunt us, but as Kalidasa said in his poem, ‘For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision’.

                              How can I be afraid if the present is only that matters? I can always trust what I can do today than what I can become of tomorrow. I will never be afraid because God is always with me. So, I should be doing what life told me to do not tomorrow but today.

Amilyn Mae R. Palcotilo

BSED II-N

A Mother in a Refugee Camp

          I first read the “A Mother in a Refugee Camp” when I was researching about its author, Chinua Achebe. At that time I wasn’t really very smitten by this poem maybe because I just sort of scanned it or perhaps I just didn’t care. But, when we were reminded about our project, for some unknown reason, this poem is what first came to my mind.

          A Mother in a Refugee Camp is a poem about a mother holding her dying son in her arms, for the last time. It is a painful and very sad picture if you tried to imagine it. But, despite that, Chinua Achebe was able to deliver it in a sweet and very touching way.

          The poem started, with Achebe comparing the scene with that of what happened with Mary when she was holding the body of dead Jesus Christ (Actually, I am not very sure with my interpretation of this part. The line ”No Madonna and Child could touch...” made me conclude this way.) As the poem continued, it is already evident that dying children is a common scene on that refugee camp, that some mothers no longer care. However, the woman in the poem is not like them. Though her son lay dying in her arms, there’s still a smile on her face as she remembers the happy moments she had with her beloved son. Her love for him is so strong that instead of just weeping there, she clean him up before laying him to rest, took out a comb and arranged her son’s ” rust-colored hair” like what she always did when he was getting ready for school. The last line ”Like putting flowers on a tiny grave...” signifies that the child really died.

          For me, the mother in the poem can be seen in two ways. First, she is a mother who is not yet ready to let go and accept the fact that her son is dead, that’s why she continued holding him with such care. Another is that she is a

mother who already accepted her son’s fate and she is just holding him for the last time while she is arranging his body.  Either way, one thing is very evident in this story, the amazing love of a mother to her child even in death.

This poem touched me so much because, though not all of us already lost someone we love dearly, we all know how hard that would be. Losing someone is painful enough. So, imagine how hard it is for a mother to watch her son die in her arms. This poem described the pain of losing someone in a very sad yet sweet way. It is sad and depressing and heart breaking but I enjoyed it. This is just one of the reasons why Chinua Achebe is considered a legend in poem writing.