Visions of Noise

 Many think that Destiny is an event that was yet to occur. For him, it was a road he'd already been on in the past, a path that didn't quite lead to anywhere. He thought nothing about the day, only that it meant the long commute and the emptiness he felt as he passed along a long, desolate stretch of highway on his way to meet a long lost friend in the city. This was long before telecommunications was a thing and there was no way to cancel an appointment once it had been set. There were only two ways to call someone from a distance--the landline or from a payphone which was usually installed only at places of business or the malls or gas stations which he was a long way away from. Staring out the window as he always did, he wondered what it would be like to relive the good old days with a buddy whom he hadn't seen in decades. Waking up that morning, he had no idea what the day had in store for him. Nursing a coffee and a smoke at the hallway leading to his friend's off...

 Reeling from a brewing hangover, he watched her walk avay. She had hinted that they spend the night but he chose to stay--for whatever reason, just so he could give her the "sunrise" he promised. When she was gone, not only did he feel the emptiness but more so, the stupidity of what he had done. "Who the fuck turns down an invitation to pillow?" That single idiotic act would haunt him for years. It was the itch he never scratched. It was that unkind word one could never take back. It was the perpetual wondering and the unending, "What ifs?" that would never find an answer. Someone once told him, "Lessons can be expensive." Almost 3 decades since, he was still emotionally bankrupt. Relationships didn't seem to work out the way he dreamed they would. Women came and went and with each failed encounter, a part of him died and it was better to forfeit the memories than to cling to the pain.  Serendipity was not the first and certainly not the la...

 It's almost sunrise And I'm a day behind I'd imagine  You'd be getting up by now And I've got some sleep  To attend to The bed is As it was when I left it And I am all but dead Sunrise Reminds me of you Your smile  Keeps me warm And I can't wait Till sunset To be with you And so I dream I'd like to offer you More than  Just ink and paper But Sunrise Just isn't mine to give.

I am truly amazed at how people these days totally disregard life. It's difficult to miss the fact that 9 out of 10 people in a room will be glued to their smartphone screens, "doom-scrolling" for hours on end.  Being part of a generation when life was tactile and experiential, I cannot help but fear the digital future ahead. I remember when I was a whole lot younger, every moment was meant to be experienced. I would stare out the car window while my Papa drove us around the city or take a trip to Baguio. I would sit on the balcony of our home in Happy Glen and watch people, learning to read body language and making assessments of characters.  I was always hungry for knowledge and forever curious about what makes the world tick.  Back in the day, this was not difficult. Most everything was manual-powered or as I like to say, "tao-matic". Rotary dials, mailboxes, painted posters, the knife sharpening guy who carried around a bicycle-like contraption that spun a g...