Dance to death By Virginia J. Pasalo     EVERYDAY, I watch you come out of a dream that seems to me, a nightmare you crawl like a tired turtle to the water, in the bathroom to wash your face and brush your teeth and your body begs to be…

Embracing the moment By Virginia J. Pasalo   IT is late. I just woke up to music that makes me dance with the stars. Life is sweet, even under stress. I can imagine myself walking towards an airplane bound for Milan, from an airport in Zurich, the excitement of the…

Vanishing Light By Virginia J. Pasalo     Are You angry? I believe so. You are angry. With or without reason You must be to allow desecration of sacred spaces to burn, to smash, to mangle.   We must have displeased You displeased, yes, displeased for how else can You…

Finding the beautiful in the mess By Virginia J. Pasalo   NOT so very long ago, I used to cry over oppressors and bullies in my life. My father dealt with my crying by making me face my tormentors and taught me to engage them in their own fight. It…

Educating Rita By Virginia J. Pasalo   IT is easy to pillory Senator Trillanes. Especially if a white BBC anchor pilloried him. Somehow some people attain superiority that way, superiority by identification. This attitude can be justified, the behavior of Senator Trillanes leaves much to be desired, most often accompanied…

Bally shoes By Virginia J. Pasalo IT was a bright sunny morning. For the first time in a very long time, we were together, you were wearing red, I forgot what I was wearing, or if I wore anything. Although guarded, strange that I felt so comfortable with you. I…

A scented reminder By Virginia J. Pasalo THE dawn smells of sampaguita. I smell it even when I imagine it. My childhood is full of sampaguita stories. They remind me of my colorful childhood. I remember Auntie Intay who woke me up early at dawn to pick the flowers along…

Building trust By Virginia J. Pasalo TRUST is what we give to another being we have faith in. Therefore, before trust is given, faith has to be there. Faith is the confidence and the assurance in things we do not sense or fully comprehend, like the faith in the existence…

People of the lake By Virginia J. Pasalo MARAWI’S old name “Dansalan” is derived from “dansal”, a destination point or a meeting place. It also means arrival or coming. That was how places were named in the past, much like Pangasinan (where salt is made) and Dagupan (meeting place). Dansalan…

The silence of flowers By Virginia J. Pasalo IT is getting to be a habit, this three-hour sleep. I woke up at 2:45 a.m., listening at first to the sound of parrots imitating the sound of humans and the Gregorian chant imitating the voice of angels. Then, I turned off…