Ten things I noticed around Casa San Pablo:
- A stone ceramic in a candy jar.
- Masarap na champorado.
- Small gray butterflies hovering low over the short grass.
- Two guests, probably a mother and daughter, who don’t look a like, but their shirts are the same.
- Pink bougainvillea flowers covering the roof of a building.
- The texture of rustic wood against my bum.
- A basketball ring with a torn net dangling.
- Newly dried white linens.
- Soft edges of fresh grown pine needles.
- Gentle jazz piano music from the cafe behind the chirping of birds.
A writer is chismosa.
“Bagay” by Rofel Tinio Contemplation is not just thinking; it is also feeling See with new eyes = Seeing more Look at one painting for one hour Enjoy first before writing about it. “Aliw” means consolation in its old usage in pasyon; profound joy
“Kapag masakit ang ulo mo, lumabas ka sa bahay” (from an ambahan of the Mangyan)
Paying attention on something generates words.
Don’t be intimidated of poetry. We are all born poets.
You are your first reader.
Focus on enjoying the process. Ben Hewitt’s vignettes are similar to Sir Rofel’s. Although I want to improve my skills, I want to do so in the context of my poetics.
“Binibihisan ang nararamdaman” Dialogue Yung kusinero ay makata din Litany = pag-uulit ng “dahilan” Drawing sa wall as metaphor for unfulfilled dreams Stories you won’t even tell yourself Poetry catches a lot in a few words. Metaphor should work in both literal and metaphorical levels. She let the rag talk to her