By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

CONTEMPLATION. That is what birthdays mean to me. An occasion to be grateful for the many things, good and bad, that continue to weave into our human life. Often, we celebrate with friends and family, or with a special person whose presence inspires, or with whom we have been through the best and the worst.

Some spend birthdays publicly, giving away material things, for future intentions, especially politicians. This practice stems from the knowledge that for most of the population, we forget what had been stolen, or do not realize what is being taken away, when we accept these crumbs. Others justify, “crumbs maybe for you, but it sustains us for seven days.” True, money, at least, keeps your head afloat, even if you cannot swim to shore. Lavish birthday parties at least provide entertainment, one that takes us away from the reality of the rising prices of rice and other commodities. We laugh and live through the realities of corruption. Nothing much have changed, as reflected in this poem I wrote in 2014:

The famished road

a glimpse of your existence
that’s what is important now
even if tomorrow you are gone
and return at my door
three years after
to pay me another visit
to buy my soul
again
now means a kilo of rice
a pack of noodles
and cans of sardines
to live for another day
a big bargain
for one decrepit old woman
and her cats who lost their skins
fending off rabid dogs
on a famished road
I can be a patriot
another day
another time
snatch your breath
and some jewelry
and dip my forefinger
in your blood
and write at your door, “Not guilty!”
Because truly you are not
more guilty than I am
of the crime
for which we suffer
our own decay.

I have accepted this harsh reality. It leaves very little room for hope, but we cling to whatever happiness this life offers and continue to chip wherever we can, for a change. You’re not alone, Marites Austria Viado, be happy on your birthday. Life gives us a chance to be, even in this existence, where other things may not be, because of the current order of circumstances. There are things that may be in another lifetime. There is another life, even for a felled tree.

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