Last Sunday, I was at Holy Trinity Academy, Loay, my high school Alma Mater, for a two-day workshop on Campus Journalism. That was the second day and we opened it with a poetry writing exercise in connection to my discussion on Literature the other day. The theme that they chose out from four mystery choices was The Art of Letting Go. I took inspiration from a story Sir Bimboy Peñaranda said in one of his lectures. It was about a wedding tradition of one Philippine tribe where the couple gets married in the middle of a river with strong currents, knowing the currents might take them away. It is said that it is a testament of their undying love and promise of being together no matter what.
In the midst of the river, I stood.
The currents crushing against the rocks,
making the noises they make
echo the promises we once said.
The lashings of the water, I fought
as I write you a letter
not on paper, but on the water.
Ought to be forgotten, not remembered.
In the river, I'm alone...distraught,
my letter taken by the currents
away, to wherever it will flow.
In the midst of the flowing river
where two people say their promises
of everlasting love, I made mine,
and sealed it with a kiss to the wind.
