Seasons in the Sun

I’ll catch the sun
and never give it back again
I’ll catch the sun
and keep it for my own
And in a world
where no one understands
I’ll  take my outstretched hands
and offer it to anyone.

– I’ll Catch The Sun
Rod McKuen

The first time I encountered Rod McKuen’s poetry, I was hooked  and that was almost thirty years ago.  A singer, a songwriter, a poet!  He was part of my days and nights of finding myself, searching for a lost love, maybe, just maybe,  it wasn’t there at all but the poetry of Rod McKuen was.

Seasons in the Sun was one of his popular books and he  was a friend, a companion during dark nights and an imaginary shoulder to cry on.  He speaks for a generation with gentle and always intelligent poetry . In vain, I am still trying to find some of his books and they are still included in my wishlist at Shelfari.

I would ask of you
that you ever be warm
willing to be kind
not letting me forget
that kindness is the passport
and the proven way
for two to journey through
a lifetime, each other,
or a single summer’s day.

Simple lines, the meaning of which touches you to the core.  I’ve spent some of my younger years wishing that I could put my thoughts on paper as sensitively as he does.  I’ve spent some of my youngers years wishing that I could reach out through poetry too just like he does, but that will never be.  Ambitious thinking!

And in my heart, I truly believed in finding one true love.  And  somehow I was brave enough to give it a try.  Listen to this:

Cloud formations
on a give day
and wondering
if you’d seen them too
are enough to make
a morning pass for me.

was your day
filled with wanting
or the needlepoint
of knowing that I waited

I did
I do.

Rod McKuen! He still could turn my days into sunshine and  makes me appreciate the times that certain rain must fall.

Read Full Post »

Thought for the Day

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
Albert Camus

Read Full Post »

The Presidential Wannabes

Countdown to 2010: An ANC Leadership Forum, introduced us to the five presidential aspirants in a two-hour question and answer format anchored by TV journalists Ricky Carandang and Tina Monson-Palma. It was sponsored by ABS CBN in conjunction with the Ateneo School of Government. The five presidential aspirants were Gilbert Teodoro, GMA’s Defense Secretary, Fr. Ed Panlilio, governor of Pampanga and the three senators, Mar Roxas, Richard Gordon and Chiz Escudero.

Teodoro lauded the economic achievements of GMA citing NLEX, SCTEX among others. Roxas and Escudero of course belongs to the political opposition. Roxas touched on the government’s failure to address the present corruption in the public sector which “amplified the negative impact of the global economic crisis”. Escudero as usual, seemed to give those rehearsed responses, coming out like the best debater among the five but I admire his fluency in speaking Tagalog.

I wonder, I couldn’t place where Gordon was coming from. Is he a part of the administration or he was just trying to impress the people with his on and off criticism of the Arroyo government? But, Teodoro and Gordon gave more concrete answers than the rest.

Ed Panlilio was soft-spoken, more like delivering a good homily on a Sunday mass, but of course, he is still a man of the cloth.

Teodoro said that he was in favor of charter change but should be through a Constitutional Convention but he also declared that he needs the go signal of Malacanang for practical reasons before he could run.

Gordon said that Arroyo’s biggest fault was to engage in “transactional politics”. he further said that he would lead by example. Panlilio was put on the spot by co-host Ricky Carandang about his views on the issue of family planning. ‘”These things are delicate matters, critical issues, I believe that there should be more opportunities and room for discussion and dialogue”. Escudero emphasized the corruption issue against Pres. Arroyo.

Tina Monson-Palma minced no words when she asked Mar Roxas if he was merely using Korina Sanchez to boost his presidential bid and he answered that his critics are just “inggit”. (They are already engaged to be married). Actually Korina’s early morning radio program on DZMM was replaced by another anchored by Pinky Webb and Ricky Carandang. She said that she would just maintain her weekly TV show Rated K and help Mar in his campaign.

When they were asked by Ricky Carandang about the person they admire the most, living or dead, Gordon chose his father and he was emotional about it, getting teary-eyed while recalling how his father valued work ethics. Roxas said he admire Cory Aquino.

I wonder why, the other presidential wannabees were absent, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, Ping lacson and Noli de Castro. Or is this a case of less talk, less mistakes?

Read Full Post »