Thursday, October 22, 2015

PEOPLE WATCHING



PEOPLE WATCHING 
by Victor P. Gendrano


A typical Sunday morning scene unfolds before me in my favorite eatery which I usually frequent after church mass service. Seated together on the right table is a young couple evidently so much in love with each other, oblivious to other people around them while safely ensconced in their private world. Holding hands, they let their free hands tend to their food and drinks.

Next, to their left, is a father and his well-behaved daughter in her Sunday clothes, slowly munching her french fries. In between sipping her drink, she glances at her dad with an adoring and loving smile. During a lull in their eating, he gently brushes a wisp of unruly hair upwards to her child's forehead. 

On the next table are two middled aged men boisterously rummaging a found newspaper left on their table by a previous customer. One is looking for sales in a local store while the other is busy perusing the sports page. 

At the farthest table, an old couple, obviously married and used to each other's ways, are quietly eating with nary a conversation but with a happy and contented demeanor.

People watching like this is becoming a pleasant diversion for me lately, unobtrusively observing the action and flow of humanity seemingly in slow motion.

dining alone
I forgot to feel sorry
for myself


Friday, October 16, 2015

OLDTIMERS

(For the Filipino American History Month observed each October in the US). 


Oldtimers, a cinquain poem

by Victor P. Gendrano

Across
the vast ocean
they came in waves and droves
leaving behind their native land
for good;
to Hawaii, California
even to Alaska
for better life
they hoped.

Too long
they have endured
so much hostility
and outright discrimination
galore.
They're my ancestors who, alas,
the young people today
unknowingly
ignore.

From my book, Rustle of bamboo leaves,copyright 2005.
 http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/rustle-of-bamboo-leaves/246155



Friday, October 9, 2015

A Pause in Time



by Victor P. Gendrano

Tarry a little while
and let those jaundiced eyes
pierce the unseen wonder
of nature's bounteous beauty

which in civilization's 
suicidal dash to extinction
neither could pause nor ponder
or otherwise reflect on the
spontaneity of the moment

or the cherished charm 
of a dew-draped flower
the mesmerizing melody of a song
the wishful whispers of a sigh or
a budding brave and shy smile

For once
let feelings and emotion
reign supreme over reason
and embrace these arrested
moments like long-lost lovers

Then let the soul sustain
itself of those magical moments
pulsing with life again.


In my book, RUSTLE OF BAMBOO LEAVES