POEM

THE BLUE BOWL

Like primitives we buried the cat
with his bowl. Bare-handed
we scraped sand and gravel
back into the hole.
They fell with a hiss
and thud on his side,
on his long red fur, the white feathers
between his toes, and his
long, not to say aquiline, nose.

We stood and brushed each other off.

There are sorrows keener than these.

Silent the rest of the day, we worked,

ate, stared, and slept. It stormed
all night; now it clears, and a robin
burbles from a dripping bush
like the neighbor who means well
but always says the wrong thing.

—Jane Kenyon

FIGHT
That is the difference between me and you.
You pack an umbrella, #30 sun goo
And a red flannel shirt. That's not what I do.

I put the top down as soon as we arrive.

The temperature's trying to pass fifty-five.
I'm freezing but at least I'm alive.
Nothing on earth can diminish my glee.
This is Florida, Florida, land of euphoria,
Florida in the highest degree.

You dig in the garden. I swim in the pool.

I like to wear cotton. You like to wear wool.
You're always hot. I'm usually cool.

You want to get married. I want to be free.

You don't seem to mind that we disagree.
And that is the difference between you and me.
 —Laurel Blossom
THE DISTANCES
This house, pitched now
The dark wide stretch
Of plains and ocean
To these hills over
The night-filled river,
Billows with night,
Swells with the rooms
Of sleeping children, pulls
Slowly from this bed,
Slowly returns, pulls and holds,
Is held where we
Lock all distances!

Ah, how the distances

Spiral from that
Secrecy:
Room,
Rooms, roof
Spun to the huge
Midnight, and into
The rings and rings of stars.

—Henry W. Rago

THE BAT
By day the bat is cousin to the mouse.
He likes the attic of an aging house.

His fingers make a hat about his head.

His pulse beat is so slow we think him dead.

He loops in crazy figures half the night

Among the trees that face the corner light.

But when he brushes up against a screen,

We are afraid of what our eyes have seen:

For something is amiss or out of place

When mice with wings can wear a human face.
 —Theodore Roethke

AFTER US
Rain is falling through the roof.
And all that prospered under the sun,
the books that opened in the morning
and closed at night, and all day
turned their pages to the light;

the sketches of boats and strong forearms

and clever faces, and of fields
and barns, and of a bowl of eggs,
and lying across the piano
the silver stick of a flute; everything

invented and imagined,

everything whispered and sung,
all silenced by cold rain.

The sky is the color of gravestones.

The rain tastes like salt, and rises
in the streets like a ruinous tide.
We spoke of millions, of billions of years.
We talked and talked.

Then a drop of rain fell

into the sound hole of the guitar, another
onto the unmade bed. And after us,
the rain will cease or it will go on falling,
even upon itself.
—Connie Wanek
 RIDDLES
1. Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg

2. Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle

3. Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water?

Answer: A sponge

4. Riddle: What gets wet while drying?

Answer: A towel

5. Riddle: I’m found in socks, scarves and mittens; and often in the paws of
playful kittens. What am I?
Answer: Yarn
Short stories
 LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD - by Leanne Guenther
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest.  Whenever she went
out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One morning, Little Red Riding Hood asked her mother if she could go to visit her grandmother as it
had been awhile since they'd seen each other.

"That's a good idea," her mother said.  So they packed a nice basket for Little Red Riding Hood to
take to her grandmother.

When the basket was ready, the little girl put on her red cloak and kissed her mother goodbye.

"Remember, go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned.  "Don't dawdle along the way
and please don't talk to strangers!  The woods are dangerous."

"Don't worry, mommy," said Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll be careful."

But when Little Red Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her promise to
her mother.  She picked a few, watched the butterflies flit about for awhile, listened to the frogs
croaking and then picked a few more. 

Little Red Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a dark
shadow approaching out of the forest behind her...

Suddenly, the wolf appeared beside her.

"What are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster.

"I'm on my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the brook,"  Little Red Riding
Hood replied.

Then she realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to her
Grandma's house. 

The wolf, in the meantime, took a shortcut...

The wolf, a little out of breath from running, arrived at Grandma's and knocked lightly at the door.

"Oh thank goodness dear!  Come in, come in!  I was worried sick that something had happened to
you in the forest," said Grandma thinking that the knock was her granddaughter.

The wolf let himself in.  Poor Granny did not have time to say another word, before the wolf gobbled
her up!

The wolf let out a satisfied burp, and then poked through Granny's wardrobe to find a nightgown
that he liked.  He added a frilly sleeping cap, and for good measure, dabbed some of Granny's
perfume behind his pointy ears.

A few minutes later, Red Riding Hood knocked on the door.  The wolf jumped into bed and pulled
the covers over his nose.  "Who is it?" he called in a cackly voice.
"It's me, Little Red Riding Hood." "Oh how lovely!  Do come in, my dear," croaked the wolf.

When Little Red Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her
Grandmother.

"Grandmother!  Your voice sounds so odd.  Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Oh, I just have touch of a cold," squeaked the wolf adding a cough at the end to prove the point.

"But Grandmother!  What big ears you have," said Little Red Riding Hood as she edged closer to the
bed.

"The better to hear you with, my dear," replied the wolf.

"But Grandmother!  What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood.

"The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf.

"But Grandmother!  What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering
slightly.

"The better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf and he leapt out of the bed and began to
chase the little girl.

Almost too late, Little Red Riding Hood realized that the person in the bed was not her
Grandmother, but a hungry wolf.

She ran across the room and through the door, shouting, "Help!  Wolf!" as loudly as she could.

A woodsman who was chopping logs nearby heard her cry and ran towards the cottage as fast as he
could.

He grabbed the wolf and made him spit out the poor Grandmother who was a bit frazzled by the
whole experience, but still in one piece."Oh Grandma, I was so scared!"  sobbed Little Red Riding
Hood, "I'll never speak to strangers or dawdle in the forest again."

"There, there, child.  You've learned an important lesson.  Thank goodness you shouted loud enough
for this kind woodsman to hear you!"

The woodsman knocked out the wolf and carried him deep into the forest where he wouldn't bother
people any longer.

Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother had a nice lunch and a long chat.

The Ass & His Driver

An Ass was being driven along a road leading down the mountain side, when he suddenly took it into
his silly head to choose his own path. He could see his stall at the foot of the mountain, and to him
the quickest way down seemed to be over the edge of the nearest cliff. Just as he was about to leap
over, his master caught him by the tail and tried to pull him back, but the stubborn Ass would not
yield and pulled with all his might.
"Very well," said his master, "go your way, you willful beast, and see where it leads you."

With that he let go, and the foolish Ass tumbled head over heels down the mountain side.

They who will not listen to reason but stubbornly go their own way against the friendly advice of
those who are wiser than they, are on the road to misfortune.
 THE BUNDLE OF STICKS
A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he
could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should
make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was
moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the
bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his
best, none was able to do so.

The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did
very easily.

"My Sons," said the Father, "do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and
help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among
yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle."

In unity is strength.
 HERCULES & THE WAGONER
A Farmer was driving his wagon along a miry country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly
drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to
the hub in a rut.

The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making
the least effort to get it out of the rut. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules
to come to his aid. Then, it is said, Hercules really did appear, saying:

"Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the
wagon by simply looking at it and whining about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some
effort to help yourself."

And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very
readily, and soon the Farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned.

Self help is the best help.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

 THE SHEEP & THE PIG

One day a shepherd discovered a fat Pig in the meadow where his Sheep were pastured. He very
quickly captured the porker, which squealed at the top of its voice the moment the Shepherd laid his
hands on it. You would have thought, to hear the loud squealing, that the Pig was being cruelly hurt.
But in spite of its squeals and struggles to escape, the Shepherd tucked his prize under his arm and
started off to the butcher's in the market place.

The Sheep in the pasture were much astonished and amused at the Pig's behavior, and followed the
Shepherd and his charge to the pasture gate.

"What makes you squeal like that?" asked one of the Sheep. "The Shepherd often catches and
carries off one of us. But we should feel very much ashamed to make such a terrible fuss about it like
you do."

"That is all very well," replied the Pig, with a squeal and a frantic kick. "When he catches you he is
only after your wool. But he wants my bacon! gree-ee-ee!"

It is easy to be brave when there is no danger.

 ORATION PIECE

I AM THE YOUTH OF TODAY - By: Lovella Chris L. Palma

I am the youth of today. I am a descendant of the brave Katipuneros and the strong-willed leaders of
the revolution. I wear the red banner and carry the torch of my guerrilla forefathers. The blood of
my ancestors runs through my veins. I was not delivered into this world in defeat. The resilience of
the past centuries nourishes my will but I am still fighting for my freedom, justice, and peace.

To our distinguished members of the board of judges, to my fellow contenders, friends, visitors,
ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

I stand before you to speak for democracy, that our heroes died for, the unfortunate and unjust
strived for, and the present and even the future generation’s endeavour. Honor and dignity flow in
my blood and my heart beats for freedom.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Filipino heroism is our legacy. It is found in the determination that made
it possible for our Banganhon brothers to fight for freedom. It is in the courage that sustained them
to seek justice for the brutal Banga massacre many years ago. Let the blood of the
courageous Katipuneros run through the veins of our children. Let their cries be echoed to our
youth. Let us revel in the victory and peace that our forefathers gave their life for.

But where is our freedom? Through the agony of the three hundreds of years under the Spanish
colonization, several years under the Japanese and American occupation, I should think we are
liberated from foreign forces… but a fellow Filipino dictator once again threatened our peace. When
victory became ours, the seed of democracy in our country began to take root and sprouted to grow.
I should rejoice, and shout. However, ladies and gentlemen, I can see pictures of our Mother Land in
reality at the present and she is chained. Her shackles are those of poverty and inequality. Her chains
are those of injustices, human rights violations, corruption, and treason. Her eyes are blinded by
media, and social networking. But her heart breaks as she sees her sons point their guns at each
other. She sees her daughters slaving their way in foreign lands to earn money to buy food for their
families. Is this what freedom has cost her?

I am the youth of today, I am free to do what I want without prejudice. I am free to say what I want
without fear of incrimination. I have grown fond of TV shows, love teams and teleserye, and fight
over them in social media.  If only my fellow youths can defend our land from domestic terrorist
groups, like how we defend AlDub or Pastillas girl. If only we can protect our West Philippine Sea
from foreign invaders like how we protect our love teams from rumors. Then I can say that our
forefathers’ heroism is not in vain.

Fellow Banganhons, I am the Filipino Youth of today. I enjoy social networking like facebook and
instagram. I like taking selfies and posting it online. But what I do online does not define me. It is my
thoughts – thoughts that will always contain memories of the meaningful virtues our ancestors
passed down to us. It is my words – in the stories that I will tell my future children and grandchildren
of how Aeaw-aeaw came to be. It is in my actions that embody the true nature of Saguibin – helping
one another.

As Dr. Jose Rizal once quoted, “He, who doesn’t know how to look back where he came from, will
never reach his destiny.” The only way to reach our dreams for the future is to have a clear
understanding of the past. What has already happened can never be changed but they can be
lessons we can learn from.
I am the YOUTH of today. I am a descendant of the brave Katipuneros and the strong-willed leaders
of the revolution. I wear the red banner and carry the torch of my guerrilla forefathers. The blood of
my ancestors runs through my veins. I was not delivered into this world in defeat. The resilience of
the past century nourishes my will but I am still fighting for my freedom, justice, and peace. Ladies
and gentlemen, where is YOUR freedom? Once again, good afternoon.

CORRUPTION AND DESPAIR

Good morning every one. I am here to share my reflections to you about the worsening problem of
our country; it is a problem whose name even street-children who have learned how to speak can
pronounce.

I am not here to define the word. I am not also here to give examples because we are very tired of it.
As a writer, I have formed the habit of reflection. I believe this is the only thing a writer has, the
ability to reflect about the things that happen in the world. Otherwise, how can poets like me write
something unique out of the ordinary?

Wherever I set my eyes to, I see traces of this problem. Like you, I am also getting tired. For a
change, I thought about thinking the reason why human beings are able to do the things that
destroy of corrupt us.

We know the meaning of hope. The newly-elected 44th  US president Barack Obama, said that hope
is not blind optimism. It is the courage to face every day trials knowing that we will overcome and
accomplish the things we long for and dream of.

In other words, Obama was saying a person who has faith has the ability to look at not only the
things that occupies him at the moment, but also the things that are not there yet. He is able to see
beyond today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, a week from now, a month, a year, ten years, one
generation from now.

Corruption is so widespread in our society I believe we have lost hope in eradicating it. I compare
corruption to garbage. All my life I have not littered but the streets are still full of it, so what for? A
candy wrapper could no longer aggravate the piles of garbage in the streets. The shortsightedness of
this view leads us to despair, and despair pushes us to commit acts not done by people who hope
and continues to hope. The mind that thinks this kind of thoughts no longer believes in the saying
what we sow we reap. His vision could not extend far enough to the harvest season, so he does not
believe in will come, why plant? Hunger and despair are his only motivation; not hope anchored in
the belief that tomorrow brings an opportunity to ease the sadness, feed the hunger, and fill the
need.

What I really want to say is this: corruption is a symptom of a soul who has lost hope and direction in
life. If we really want to eradicate corruption, we need to toil to bring back hope and faith in our
lives. Let us believe in the power of good deeds, and let us hope that the integrity we planted will
bear abundant fruit so that all may prosper.

Thank you very much, and mabuhay.

WHY NOT DYNASTY?

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Let me talk about classification. Classification is the ability of a
person to separate one thing from another of a different class. What a simple definition, right?

It is that very ability that separates us from animals and made us who we are–human being.

For example, we throw away that which we no longer intend to use or consume. We call them scrap
or better yet we call them garbage. So, when something, like food, is thrown into the garbage, we no
longer touch much more eat it. Why? Again, because we have classified it as garbage, and as
garbage, we no longer eat it.

Try giving food to a person which (food) that person saw you took from a the garbage and see what
happens.

In the animal world, however, classification does not exist. So, we are not surprised if here we see a
cat eat from the table and see the same cat eat food from the garbage can there. Or are we
embarrassed to see our dog make love in public places like the streets.

It must be a very long introduction, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your indulgence, but I am
only about to make my point.

My point is, those who do not classify or do not know how to classify are no more than an animal in
the body of a human being. Being such, listening to them is a waste of time.

I am referring to the anti-dynasty proponents, especially the speaker that preceded me (please refer
to the immediately preceding piece, An oration piece). His point was simply this: you can not be a
politician, much more a good one, if you belong to a family of politicians.

With all due respect to him, his statement doesn’t really make sense to me, and I am sure to many
others also. It is like saying, you can not be a doctor because your grandfather is a doctor, or your
father, or any member of your family, or dynasty, for that matter is also a doctor.

You see, in politics as in any other calling or profession, predecessors do not make a man.

I agree with him that, having an ascendant politico doesn’t automatically qualify the descendant to
be a politico much more an effective one, and vice versa. But I disagree with him that just because
my ascendant or descendant is a politico disqualifies me to be voted for and to serve my Country.

The previous speaker was blaming Congress because it failed to comply with the order of the
Constitution to at least define the term “dynasty” much more, enact a law that prohibits it. But the
problem, my dear brothers and sisters, is not in Congress. The problem lies in our Constitution itself
because it failed to put educational attainment as qualification for an elective office.

You see, brothers and sisters, no body clamours if the son of a doctor becomes a doctor himself, or
the son of a lawyer becomes also a lawyer because we know for a fact that he worked hard for it, he
has the intelligence to become it and therefore he deserves it because he passed the respective
licensure examination.

What I am trying to say is, instead of generalizing and in effect, stereotyping candidates or politicians
with an ascendant or descendant politico as ineffective, inefficient, whatever, why not move to
amend the Constitution, then put educational qualification as a prerequisite for an official position,
so that we are assured that those who are elected in the position have at least the required
education to be able to discharge his duties. Or better yet, put their blame on the 1987
Constitutional Commissioners (one of them Fr. Bernas) for their omission that we are now in debate.

You see, ladies and gentlemen, if our Constitution placed educational attainment as a requirement
for a public position, the dynasty clause in our constitution, ordering Senators to enact an anti-
dynasty bill becomes moot. In otherwords, useless!

Why?

Because, the only concern we have about politicians or candidates who belong to the same
family that make up the dynasty is that, they do not qualify, and they are in the position simply
because of undue advantage they have having a family member already in the position.

As to the argument that they have undue advantage over other candidates by their being members
of a political family, what can I say? Every person, although born equal in law, is not born equal in
fact. Some are born to rich parents, some are born to parents who do not even have food for a meal.
If I am born to rich parents naturally, I will inherit their riches, as well as I will inherit the poverty of
my parents if I were born to poor ones.

It is a fact that we do not and can not choose our parents and vice versa. If I am born to famous
parents, it is next to impossible that I will die incognito.

This circumstance is beyond our control. We have nothing to blame but fate. We can not argue with
fate neither can we control or regulate it.

But, as to the qualifications of candidates, this we can provide limitations. If the unqualified is not
allowed to run in the first place, our problem is solved.

Thank you.
 THE DEAD AND THE DYING IN THE MIDDLE-EAST

This is how Hamas acquires the sympathy of the world: it permits the slaughter of the Palestinians.

Every day, its militants fire rockets towards Israel, and Israel, fed up with the bullying, bombs Gaza.

Exactly as Hamas wants it to happen.

Now, Hamas has a war zone. Journalists are not allowed inside the zone except in the hospitals to
take footage of and write news stories about the wounded and the dying, especially the women and
children.

If Hamas loves its people so dearly, as they claim so, why does it not stop sending rockets to Israel
especially now that the United Nations issued a resolution ordering immediate and durable
ceasefire?

Instead, they continue to send rockets to Israel and ignore the call for ceasefire.

Of course, Israel is not without fault. It so willingly grabbed the bait of the Hamas. But who can
blame Israel?

An organization built mostly to wipe out Israel from the face of the earth, Hamas was founded in
1987. While it conducted terrorist attacts on Israel soldiers and civilians, back in Palestine it
implemented extensive social services by building hospitals, schools, and libraries. No wonder it won
the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections.

By virtue of the UN resolution, Palestine was divided into two in the late 1940’s. The UN envisioned a
Palestinian Arab State in one half living side by side with Israel in the other half. The Palestinians who
were on the wrong side, about 800,000 of them, where displaced from the land we now call Israel.

Hamas claims that as long as those displaced Palestinians are not allowed to go back to Israel and
reclaim the land that was deprived them during Israel’s creation, there will be no peace. Israel, on
the other hand, wary of the Palestinians who always carry bombs to explode with themselves inside
Israel, does not mind. They have survived the Holocaust to get to where they are now, and they are
not about to surrender. Bombs and ammunition coming in from the US strengthen their resolve. By
bombing Hamas, Israel is not only protecting its interest, it is also helping the US economy in dire
need of bail out.

Hamas is aware that it is not alone in its quest to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. The Arab
countries surrounding Israel opposed it’s creation. Building a country in a territory of and sacred to
the Muslims is not acceptable. But what can they do? The world’s most powerful nations, through
the UN, said so. Experts say this is how terrorism against the West and its allies was born.

A year after Israel’s creation, Jordan occupied East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel
in 1967. Not only that, they also captured the Golan Heights controlled by Syria, Gaza Strip and the
Sinai Peninsula controlled by Egypt, and West Bank controlled by Jordan. Not a bad loot for a six-day
war against three neighboring states.
All those countries do not want an Israel so that in 1946, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,
and Syria headed the creation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, an umbrella militant
organization, for the liberation of the Palestinians, which could not happen of course while there is
an Israel.

But Hamas knows the language. Instead of demanding that Israel should disappear from the face of
the earth, Hamas’ demands were toned down to, among others, that Israel goes back to its border
prior to their taking over of Golan Heights,  Gaza Strip, and West Bank in 1967. (The Sinai Peninsula
was returned to Egypt in 1979 as part of the peace deal).

The war is centered on Gaza where most of the 800,000 displaced Palestinians take their refuge.
Thousands of them depend on the United Nations for their food and water, and education and basic
health services. Without these, thousands are going to die of hunger, thirsts and disease. But this
too is favorable to Hamas. Once the dead and the dying are beamed on TV, the world will loath and
hang Israel–just as Hamas would like it to happen.

Human race, as a whole, is losing in this war. Not Israel, not Palestine for neither of them will win.
Neither of them will get what they want, except death from both sides. But for their dream, Hamas
is willing to pay the price: the blood of the Palestinians; and Israel is more than willing to trade them
for bombs.
Declamation Pieces
 "BAD GIRL"
Hey! Everybody seems to be staring at me..
You! You! All of you!
How dare you to stare at me?
Why? Is it because I'm a bad girl?
A bad girl I am, A good for nothing teen ager, a problem child?
That's what you call me!
I smoke. I drink. I gamble at my young tender age.
I lie. I cheat, and I could even kill, If I have too.
Yes, I'm a bad girl, but where are my parents?
You! You! You are my good parents?
My good elder brother and sister in this society where I live?
Look…look at me…What have you done to me?
You have pampered and spoiled me, neglected me when I needed you
most!
Entrusted me to a yaya, whose intelligence was much lower than mine!
While you go about your parties, your meetings and gambling session…
Thus… I drifted away from you!
Longing for a father's love, yearning for a mother's care!
As I grew up, everything changed!
You too have changed!
You spent more time in your poker, majong tables, bars and night clubs.
You even landed on the headlines of the newspaper as crooks, peddlers and
racketeers.
Now, you call me names, accuse me of everything I do to myself?
Tell me! How good are you?
If you really wish to ensure my future…
Then hurry….hurry back home! Where I await you, because I need you…

Protect me from all evil influences that will threaten at my very own

understanding…
But if I am bad, really bad…then, you've got to help me!
Help me! Oh please…Help me!
 "JUVENILE DELINQUENT"

Am I a juvenile delinquent? I’m a teenager, I’m young, young at heart in mind. In this position, I’m
carefree, I enjoy doing nothing but to drink the wine of pleasure. I seldom go to school, nobody
cares!. But instead you can see me roaming around. Standing at the nearby canto (street). Or else
standing beside a jukebox stand playing the nerve tickling bugaloo. Those are the reasons, why
people, you branded me delinquent, a juvenile delinquent.

My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I
asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told
me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time
my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child,
here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjoy yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".

And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these
words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet
potatoes".

I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you
can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to
strenghten her life into contentment.

Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.

My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I
asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told
me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time
my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child,
here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjou yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".

And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these
words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet
potatoes".

I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you
can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to
strenghten her life into contentment.

Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.
 "THE UNPARDONABLE CRIME"
Only one living creature seemed to take any notice of his existence: 
this was an old St. Bernard, who used to come and lay his big head with its mournful eyes on
Christophe's knees when Christophe was sitting on the seat in front of the house. They would look
long at each other. Christophe would not drive him away Unlike the sick Goethe, the dog's eyes had
no uneasiness for him Unlike him, he had no desire to cry: 
"Go away! . . . Thou goblin thou shalt not catch me, whatever thou doest!"
He asked nothing better than to be engrossed by the dog's suppliant sleepy eyes and to help the
beast: he felt that there must be behind them an imprisoned soul imploring his aid.

In those hours when he was weak with suffering, torn alive away from life, devoid of human egoism,
he saw the victims of men, the field of battle in which man triumphed in the bloody slaughter of all
other creatures: and his heart was filled with pity and horror. Even in the days when he had been
happy he had always loved the beasts: he had never been able to bear cruelty towards them: he had
always had a detestation of sport, which he had never dared to express for fear of ridicule: but his
feeling of repulsion had been the secret cause of the apparently inexplicable feeling of dislike he had
had for certain men: he had never been able to admit to his friendship a man who could kill an
animal for pleasure. It was not sentimentality: no one knew better than he that life is based on
suffering and infinite cruelty: no man can live without making others suffer. It is no use closing our
eyes and fobbing ourselves off with words. It is no use either coming to the conclusion that we must
renounce life and sniveling like children. No. We must kill to live, if, at the time, there is no other
means of living. But the man who kills for the sake of killing is a miscreant. An unconscious
miscreant, I know. But, all the same, a miscreant. The continual endeavor of man should be to lessen
the sum of suffering and cruelty: that is the first duty of humanity.

In ordinary life those ideas remained buried in Christophe's inmost heart. He refused to think of
them. What was the good? What could he do? He had to be Christophe, he had to accomplish his
work, live at all costs, live at the cost of the weak. ... It was not he who had made the universe. . . .
Better not think of it, better not think of it. ...

But when unhappiness had dragged him down, him, too, to the level of the vanquished, he had to
think of these things. Only a little while ago he had blamed Olivier for plunging into futile remorse
and vain compassion for all the wretchedness that men suffer and inflict. Now he went even farther:
with all the vehemence of his mighty nature he probed to the depths of the tragedy of the universe:
he suffered all the sufferings of the world, and was left raw and bleeding. He could not think of the
animals without shuddering in anguish. He looked into the eyes of the beasts and saw there a soul
like his own, a soul which could not speak: but the eyes cried for it:

"What have I done to you? Why do you hurt me?" He could not bear to see the most ordinary sights
that he had seen hundreds of times —a calf crying in a wicker pen, with its big, protruding eyes, with
their bluish whites and pink lids, and white lashes, its curly white tufts on its forehead, its purple
snout, its knock-kneed legs:—a lamb being carried by a peasant with its four legs tied together,
hanging head down, trying to hold its head up, moaning like a child, bleating and lolling its gray
tongue:—fowls huddled together in a basket:—the distant squeals of a pig being bled to death:—a
fish being cleaned on the kitchen-table. . . . The nameless tortures which men inflict on such
innocent creatures made his heart ache. Grant animals a ray of reason, imagine what a frightful
nightmare the world is to them: a dream of cold-blooded men, blind and deaf, cutting their throats,
slitting them open, gutting them, cutting them into pieces, cooking them alive, sometimes laughing
at them and their contortions as they writhe in agony. Is there anything more atrocious among the
cannibals of Africa? To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the
sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of men. For with the latter it is at least admitted that
suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly
butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be
thought ridiculous.—And that is the unpardonable crime. That alone is the justification of all that
men may suffer. It cries vengeance upon God. If there exists a good God, then even the most humble
of living things must be saved. If God is good only to the strong, if there is no justice for the weak
and lowly, for the poor creatures who are offered up as a sacrifice to humanity, then there is no such
thing as goodness, no such thing as justice.
"NO PARDON FOR ME"
I'm sentenced.
Sentenced to life in this dank cell
of misery.
I can see the key-
it hangs there,
just out my finger's reach,
dangling there in a mock of freedom.
There will be no pardon for me,
no stay of this execution.
My life has convicted me
for crimes I did not commit.
My penalty meted out.
I followed every rule,
broke no laws,
have more than paid my fines
to society's shun upon me.
There was no fair trial,
no chance for me to plead my case.
The jurors were sent from hell,
quick to judgement
and showed no mercy
as they read their verdict.
Life/Death, what does it matter?
Its all the same in this prison.
I am but a mere victim,
the criminal has gotten away,
while I do the time
for fate's crimes against me.
I can't escape the hounds they'd release,
should I attemp escape,
for the walls and barbed wires
are too painful to scale
and the hounds would scent my fear.
So I sit here,
waiting...
waiting for the day they walk me
that longest mile,
waiting for the flow of their poison
to seep within' my veins.
That lethal injection
 that will finally end this misery
of a soul so wrongfully convicted to die.

"THE PLEA OF AN ABORTED FETUS"

LET THIS PRECIOUS ANGELS LIVE !

"SET ME FREE. LET ME LIVE, I DESERVE TO BE BORN, I WANT TO LIVE. FOR HEAVENS SAKE, HAVE
PITY."

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear fathers and mother, listen to my plea, listen to my story. I could have
been the 17th Lady President of the Philippines Republic, had you given me the chance to live, had
you not deprived me of my life, had you not taken away my privilege to be born.

Some eleven years ago, a healthy ovum started to generate in the womb of a woman with six other
children. My coming should be a herald of joy, a symbol of love incarnate but to my mommy it was a
burden, a problem, an additional mouth to feed. To Dad, it was a mistake, an effect of Mom's
carelessness for not taking the contraceptive pills.

One gloomy day in June, my unexpected coming was confirmed. It was a painful decision. I could
sense the imminent danger as Mom got inside the abortion room. I was an unwanted child. No one
loved me. No one cared. I was a rejected being, a tiny lump slowly forming into human being with
human soul. I was already alive, kicking, struggling. My heart was already beating and my thumb had
already the unique mark. As I was holding to my mother's womb a splash of heat came all over me. I
writhed in extreme pain.

-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not the flesh of your own flesh, the blood of your own
blood?"

The rubber suction caught my tiny limbs and mercilessly twisted it slowly cutting it from my body. I
struggled for my life. 1,2,3 and the first part of me came out.
-- "Mom, why have you permitted this? Am I not Dad's pledge of love to you?"
Then it was followed by another rubber suction sucking the other part moving it with force until
both were fully amputated.
-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not God's image you promised to love and protect?"
Then i felt shaken once, twice, several times until I do not know anymore what has been going
around. I gushed forth my last breath...

Then came the final blow, my head - the abortionist termed as No. I was totally cut from my torso:
total annihilation.
GONE IS MY CHANCE TO LEAD A HEALTHY NORMAL LIFE.

GONE IS MY CHANCE TO BEHOLD THE MANY LOVELY THINGS GOD CREATED FOR US.
GONE IS THE PROMISE OF A BLISSFUL LIFE.

SONGS
 BYE BYE LYRICS – Marshmello & Juice WRLD

[Intro: Juice WRLD] Take me to your lair (Uh)

Alright, Mello made it right Uh, Hella persuasive
Bye-Bye, Bye-Bye Hella curved animation, Like The Matrix
Oh my, Get out my life Percocet, Body aching, Stomach aching
She said, "Why?" Feel like it's a fu*king earthquake
(Mello made it right) Where my brain is, Huh, Oh
Hell's Kitchen blazing
[Chorus: Juice WRLD] Cooking coke up for slave masters, Bloody
I hit her with a bye-Bye, Bye-Bye apron
You're out your mind I remember having a dream catcher
I'm out of pills When I was like ten
And you're out of lies Set that b!tch on fire
It stays dark outside All my dreams been coming true since
Even when it's daytime (Been coming true since)
Like, Bye-Bye, Bye-Bye
Uh, Bye-Bye, Bye-Bye [Chorus: Juice WRLD]
Hit her with a bye-Bye, Bye-Bye
[Verse: Juice WRLD] You're out your mind
Um, See you later, Uh I'm out of pills
Girl, I got a question for you And you're out of lies
Yeah, I need a favor (Uh) It stays dark outside
Turn yourself back to a demon Even when it's daytime
I'm a demon slayer (Uh) Like, Bye-Bye, Bye-Bye
Hell-Proof to the core Uh, Bye-Bye, Bye-Bye (Bye)
 Rihanna Lyrics "LIFT ME UP"

Lift me up
Hold me down
Keep me close
Safe and sound

Burning in a hopeless dream

Hold me when you go to sleep
Keep me in the warmth of your love
When you depart keep me safe
Safe and sound

Lift me up
Hold me down
Keep me close
Safe and sound

Drowning in an endless sea

Take some time and stay with me
Keep me in the strength of your arms
Keep me safe
Safe and sound

Lift me up
Hold me down (Hold me down)
Keep me safe (Keep me close)
Safe and sound (Safe and sound)

Burning in a hopeless dream

Hold me when you go to sleep
Keep me safe
We need light
We need love

Lift me up (Lift me up, in your arms)

Hold me down (I need love, I need love, I need love)
Keep me close (Hold me, hold me)
Safe and sound (Hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me)
Lift me up (Hold me, hold me)
Hold me down (Hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me)
Keep me safe
 We need light
We need love

DEAR"
Ben & Ben Lyrics "

Dear Get on each other's nerves with careless

I know you're not the type words
To verbalize your thoughts We throw in the height of strong emotions
But know that I see you But know that I will stay
The wonder within you I'm with you all the way

Dear Only the two of us can understand

We come from different tides The sureness of our love
Like sunrise and moonlight I promise you that I will hold your hand
So how'd we arrive at No matter what may come
The mountain we're climbing? My dear
To the peak
Won't you spend a little while with me?
Only the two of us can understand I can wait for eternity
The sureness of our love Just for a second of your time
I promise you that I will hold your hand My dear
No matter what may come
My dear Only the two of us can understand
The sureness of our love
Dear I promise you that I will hold your hand
We've been through hell and back No matter what may come
But if anyone might ask Within the beautiful and captivating
I'd choose to go through Strangeness of our love
The fire again with you I found a sense of peace and clarity
Certainly That I had once dreamed of
My dear
There will be times when we don't see My dear
beyond My dear
Our differences and the things we don't agree
on

Ooh
 DREAMERS"
Jung Kook Lyrics "

Ala hu la dan Respect, oh, yeah

Ala hu la dan Here's to the ones, that can imagine
(Oh, RedOne) Respect, oh, yeah
Ala hu la dan
Ala hu la dan Ala hu la dan
Ala hu la dan
Look who we are, we are the dreamers Ala hu la dan
We make it happen, 'cause we believe it Ala hu la dan
Look who we are, we are the dreamers
We make it happen 'cause we can see it Look who we are, we are the dreamers
We make it happen, 'cause we believe it
Here's to the ones, that keep the passion Look who we are, we are the dreamers
Respect, oh, yeah We make it happen 'cause we can see it
Here's to the ones, that can imagine
Respect, oh, yeah Here's to the ones, that keep the passion
Respect, oh, yeah
Ala hu la dan Here's to the ones, that can imagine
Ala hu la dan Respect, oh, yeah
Ala hu la dan
Ala hu la dan Ala hu la dan
Ala hu la dan
Gather 'round now, look at me (Hayya, hayya) Ala hu la dan
Respect the love the only way (Hayya, hayya) Ala hu la da
If you wanna come, come with me (Hayya,
hayya)
The door is open now every day (Hayya,
hayya)
This one plus two, rendezvous all invited
This what we do, how we do

Look who we are, we are the dreamers

We make it happen, 'cause we believe it
Look who we are, we are the dreamers
We make it happen 'cause we can see it

Here's to the ones, that keep the passion

SKELETAL SYSTEM

The skeletal system is a network of many different parts that work together to help you move.
The main part of your skeletal system consists of your bones, hard structures that create your
body’s framework — the skeleton. There are 206 bones in an adult human skeleton. Each bone
has three main layers:

 Periosteum: The periosteum is a tough membrane that covers and protects the outside
of the bone.

 Compact bone: Below the periosteum, compact bone is white, hard, and smooth. It
provides structural support and protection.

 Spongy bone: The core, inner layer of the bone is softer than compact bone. It has small
holes called pores to store marrow.
MUSCULAR SYSTEM

The muscular system is composed of specialized cells called muscle fibers. Their predominant

function is contractibility. Muscles, attached to bones or internal organs and blood vessels, are
responsible for movement. Nearly all movement in the body is the result of muscle contraction.
Exceptions to this are the action of cilia, the flagellum on sperm cells, and amoeboid movement
of some white blood cells.

The integrated action of joints, bones, and skeletal muscles produces obvious movements such
as walking and running. Skeletal muscles also produce more subtle movements that result in
various facial expressions, eye movements, and respiration.

In addition to movement, muscle contraction also fulfills some other important functions in the
body, such as posture, joint stability, and heat production. Posture, such as sitting and standing,
is maintained as a result of muscle contraction. The skeletal muscles are continually making fine
adjustments that hold the body in stationary positions. The tendons of many muscles extend
over joints and in this way contribute to joint stability. This is particularly evident in the knee
and shoulder joints, where muscle tendons are a major factor in stabilizing the joint. Heat
production, to maintain body temperature, is an important by-product of muscle metabolism.
Nearly 85 percent of the heat produced in the body is the result of muscle contraction.
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

The integumentary system is the body system which surrounds you, both literally and
metaphorically speaking. If you look in the mirror you see it, if you look anywhere on your body
you see and if you look around you in the outside world, you see it. It is the system that can
instantly tell us whether someone is young or old, someone’s ethnicity or race or if he/she has
been on holidays recently.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of

digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the
breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and
assimilated into the body. The process of digestion has three stages: the cephalic phase,
the gastric phase, and the intestinal phase.

The first stage, the cephalic phase of digestion, begins with secretions from gastric glands in
response to the sight and smell of food. This stage includes the mechanical breakdown of food
by chewing, and the chemical breakdown by digestive enzymes, that takes place in
the mouth. Saliva contains the digestive enzymes amylase, and lingual lipase, secreted by
the salivary and serous glands on the tongue. Chewing, in which the food is mixed with saliva,
begins the mechanical process of digestion. This produces a bolus which is swallowed down
the esophagus to enter the stomach.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Respiratory system is the network of organs and tissues that help you breathe. This system
helps your body absorb oxygen from the air so your organs can work. It also cleans waste gases,
such as carbon dioxide, from your blood. Common problems include allergies, diseases or
infections.

The respiratory system has many functions. Besides helping you inhale (breathe in) and exhale
(breathe out), it:

 Allows you to talk and to smell.

 Warms air to match your body temperature and moisturizes it to the humidity level your
body needs.

 Delivers oxygen to the cells in your body.

 Removes waste gases, including carbon dioxide, from the body when you exhale.

 Protects your airways from harmful substances and irritants.

Urinary System

The urinary system's function is to filter blood and create urine as a waste by-product. The
organs of the urinary system include the kidneys, renal pelvis, ureters, bladder and urethra.

The body takes nutrients from food and converts them to energy. After the body has taken the
food components that it needs, waste products are left behind in the bowel and in the blood.

The kidney and urinary systems help the body to eliminate liquid waste called urea, and to keep
chemicals, such as potassium and sodium, and water in balance. Urea is produced when foods
containing protein, such as meat, poultry, and certain vegetables, are broken down in the body.
Urea is carried in the bloodstream to the kidneys, where it is removed along with water and
other wastes in the form of urine.
Circulatory system

The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels,

and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. [1][2] It includes
the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart and blood vessels (from
Greek kardia meaning heart, and from Latin vascula meaning vessels). The circulatory system has two
divisions, a systemic circulation or circuit, and a pulmonary circulation or circuit.[3] Some sources use the
terms cardiovascular system and vascular system interchangeably with the circulatory system.[4]

The network of blood vessels are the great vessels of the heart including large elastic arteries, and
large veins; other arteries, smaller arterioles, capillaries that join with venules (small veins), and other
veins. The circulatory system is closed in vertebrates, which means that the blood never leaves the
network of blood vessels. Some invertebrates such as arthropods have an open circulatory
system. Diploblasts such as sponges, and comb jellies lack a circulatory system.

Blood is a fluid consisting of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets that is circulated

around the body carrying oxygen and nutrients to the tissues, and waste materials away. Circulated
nutrients include proteins and minerals, other components transported are gases such as oxygen,
and carbon dioxide, hormones, and hemoglobin; providing nourishment, help in the immune system to
fight diseases, and in maintaining homeostasis by stabilizing temperature and natural pH.
NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system determines that it is a highly complex part of an animal that coordinates

its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its
body. The nervous system detects environmental changes that impact the body, then works in
tandem with the endocrine system to respond to such events. Nervous tissue first arose
in wormlike organisms about 550 to 600 million years ago. However, this classical doctrine has
been challenged in recent decades by discoveries about the existence and use of electrical
signals in plants. On the basis of these findings, some scientists have proposed that a plant
nervous system exists and that a scientific field called plant neurobiology should be created.
This proposal has led to a dispute in the scientific community between those who think we
should talk about the nervous system of plants and those who are against it. The inflexibility of
the positions in the scientific debate on both sides has led to the proposal of a solution to the
debate, consisting of redefining the concept of the nervous system by using only physiological
criteria and avoiding phylogenetic criteria.