Mga Sandali ng Ka-"emohan" 1

Seminaryo ng Maria Assumpta

Inaruga mo ako nang apat na salin ng panahon.

Pipi kang saksi sa aking mga luha't halakhak, mga sinaunang pakikibaka't pagpupunyagi. Mga silid mo't pasilyo ang nagtulay sa aking kamulatan at kawalang muwang.

Ikaw ang sumabay sa aking mga unang paglalatag ng mga pangarap. Ikaw ang nagpaniwalang liwanag ang higit na bahagi ng mundo. Ikaw ang nagkubli sa akin ng katotohanan ng mga kabiguan at kapighatian.

Sa Iyong bisig, natagpuan Ko ang mga nilalang na ngayo'y katali di lamang ng aking buhay kundi ng akin ding kaluluwa. Sa kawalan ng masusuungan, sumandig kami sa isa't isa, at nakatagpo ng lakas. Umindayog kaming sabay-sabay sa pintig ng pagkakaisa sa kabila ng pagkakaiba at sumaliw sa malabong malinaw na kumpas ng hangad ng dakilang manlilikha.

Sa aming paglisan, di Ka namin malimutan sapagkat ang hugis Mo, ang kulay Mo, ang dunong Mo, at maging, oo, ang buhay Mo ay bahagi na ng aming buong pagkatao.


Extra time last weekend at the seminary compound sort of gave me an opportunity to go around the place and take pictures. It was a home weekend for the high schoolers and the older men (who exist only in plans and dreams when I was there) were waiting for lunch in hidden corners.

My being a former seminarian gave me access to the different parts of the Maria Assumpta Seminary, my home for four years (as well as my two brothers Jay and Jason) and which I constantly visited when I was still a seminarian.

There are many changes, to say the least. The first to third year classrooms now house an upperclassmen chapel and the seminary library. The fourth year classroom and the faculty workroom are at present laboratories. The dining hall has been transformed into classrooms while the our old chapel and auditorium are parts of the college section of the building.

The uneven "U" shape of the structure has been completed to become a more uneven and even a very distorted square with a line in the middle. I imagine this set up makes escape harder but not impossible for seminarians with raging hormones.

The bell, however is still there, exactly where Benedict, my kumpare, our official bell ringer for a long time would hit it to announce the beginning and ending of activities day in and day out.

I sort of wrote the pseudo poem above while posting the pictures. It is a flood-of-emotions-spur-of-the-moment poem so the images are very random and scattered. I hope to find the time and the inspiration to improve it by becoming more conscious of writing conventions. But I may just leave it the way it is.