Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Found Poetry #2

He could not pass by a child without emotion. 
That's the nature of the man.

You pass by a little child,
spiteful, 
with ugly words, 
with wrathful heart; 
you may not have noticed the child, 
but he has seen you, 
and your image, 
unseemly and ignoble, 
may remain in his defenseless heart. 

from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/classes/las400/handouts/karamazov/book6chapter03c.html




Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The Abels


I was not born to be free- I was born to adore and obey. ― C.S. Lewis


our life
is but
a breath

a mere breath

a mere breath

a passing shadow


a traveller

just passing by

we are this

we are this

our life

a brief grasp of
a rehearsal for
e t e r n i t y

from a sermon based on I John 1:1-4 delivered by Saul Samante on 2Aug2015









Sunday, April 5, 2015

Season of Shame Part 7

i.

the four Marys
and the other women
followed after
and watched His tomb

no need for perfumes
no need for spices

sometimes
in the kingdom
just being there
makes a difference

sympathy.


ii.

the echo of hammer blows
across the hill
is long gone
justice is rolled down
like the stone
in My grave
don’t call the gardener
to mourning
and those skilled in laments
to wail
don’t hold a banquet
no victory parades
just prepare a piece
of broiled fish
run!
prepare to meet
your God

resurrection.


Friday, April 3, 2015

Season of Shame Part 6

i.

not the cruel nails
not the cross of shame
great drops of blood
falling down
like an oil
out of the flinty rock
it mingled with
the strange
twisted trunks
the twinkling of the leaves
under the moonlight
did not make Your heart
dance with delight

agony.



ii.

He is waiting
For the arresting party
the time has come
for another treachery

no need for a wicked kiss
I am He, I am He
I AM, I AM

the soldiers fall
they hide their faces

Arise! 
I lay it down 
I lay it down 

the disciples
escaped with intact ears
while He was led
as a sheep


captive.

iii.

the heavens
You covered with shade
the desert
You covered with bread
but You choose
not to hide Your face
like an unveiled passage
to the Most Holy Place
I am willfully blinded
I didn't see Your face


shame.

iv.

Rebel!
Tax evader!
A threat to Rome!
All the efforts of men
and demons
ringing through−
fiercely,constantly
shrieking out from
bloodthirsty throats.

Why are you silent O Lamb ?
Why are you silent?
like a sheep before her shearers,
is dumb.
plead,
plead with the wolves.

is this the troublesome revolutionary?
is this the king who is a rival to Caesar?
is this the Man?
envy, just envy, that is all.

Galilee! O Galilee!
It is over. It is over.


vicious.


v.

and they said...
what?
...Barabbas...Barabbas.
why?
what evil has He done?
destroy Him
let His blood be on us
let His blood be on our children


jolted.

vi.


He said to Him,
“What is truth?”
without waiting for a reply
he went out to
the Jews and said unto them,
I find in Him no fault at all.

A man convinced that truth
is trivial
The man who cannot afford
to be true and right
just told the truth
about the Truth.


errand.


vii.

Behold the man
Your pretty king
look at His swollen face, black and blue
with the slaps and the spittle all over it
whose head is crushed with crown of thorns,
whose back and sides are ripped raw
His internal organs dangling,
gaping gashes,
open wounds,
streaking blood.

There’s no beauty that we
should desire Him.

flagellations.


viii

A touch of pity,
no one.
"No, no," they say.
Sin is better than Christ.
Crucify him! Crucify him!
This basin of water
can’t wash
wicked hands .

bloodthirsty.


ix.

THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH,
THE KING OF THE JEWS
The plaque around His neck
Was then nailed over His head
Even Caesar’s mocking revenge
Praises Christ

gospel.



xi.

they planned
to throw Him down
and stone Him to death
dash to the ground by stones

instead
He was lifted up
and reach
the lowest of depth
the cross
a stumbling block
a stumbling block
majestic!
glorious!


fixed.


xii

in the day that I stood
on the other side
in the day that strangers
carried You away captive
and cast lots for your clothes−
even I were
as one of them
for violence
against My Savior
shame
shall cover me

conniver.


xiii.

some watch Him for curiosity
some to make sure that He really did die
some even delighted their cruel eyes
they who passed by
reviled Him
wagging their heads
every word  was emphatic
every syllable
cut and pierced
to the heart
the sun could no longer look
upon its Maker
he covered his face
and travelled on
in tenfold night
the earth wanted
to swallow up
His mockers!

shame.



xiv

his agonized
dropping meekly
down upon His
left breast
the thorny crown
causing drops of blood
to trickle down His
right cheek
right of Him is a thief
on the left is another thief
even the lowest of the low
would mock Him
in His loneliness

parallel.


xv.

the soldiers mock His claims−
pathetic, ridiculous joker king
cohorts of robbers, criminals
casting the same insult
the passing crowd
wagging their heads
come down from the cross
clown, fool
another crucified man
The chief priests, scribes, corrupt leaders
Mockery reaches its pinnacle

He endured  it all
He endured  it all
Hanging on the cross, He said,
“Father, forgive them…”



xvi.

a soldier is moved
to pity (is it?)
he took  a sponge
dipped it in a vessel
full of sour wine
put it on a branch of  hyssop
he ran and lift it up
to Your ovened lips
my lukewarm heart
is worst than it


thirsty.


xvii.

You took a bunch of hyssop
Dipped it in Your blood
and strike the lintel
and the doorposts
of my heart


marked.



xviii.

what despair
what death
all around
I am a thief now
and a skull after
but Lord, remember me
one thought from Your loving mind
and that shall satisfy me
crucified man trusting
in a crucified Savior
come then Roman bone-breaker
come then expressive silence
muse His praise!
I am called, too
called and bidden!


paradise.


 xix.

the Brazen Serpent
was lifted up
look!
it is naught but “look!”
it is simply “look!”
if thou canst but look
to Jesus
thou art safe
hear the voice of the Redeemer
“look unto Me, and be ye saved”
look! look! look!
O guilty souls


look.



xx.

..then they will look on Me whom they pierced.
Zechariah 12:10

Your heart was opened by the spear
The spear let loose the blood and water
“Reach here, your hand, and thrust it into My side.”
So, Thomas put his hand.
A passage to the heart always open!
—ready to receive any message
—ready to respond with the love
that has its fountain there!
Behold the open heart!
There is no love like that
with the open heart
—Your love with the opened heart
—with the open side!


pierced.



xxi

Do you see that Savior there?
He is hanging on the cross;
there are His dear hands,
pierced with nails,
nailed to a tree,
as if they were waiting for
your tardy footsteps,
because you would not come.

Do you see His dear head there?
It is hanging on His breast,
as if He would lean over,
and kiss your poor soul.

Do you see His blood,
gushing from His head,
His hands, His feet, His side?
It is running after you;
because He knew that
you would never run after it.


xxii.

Who is a God like unto Thee, who pardonethiniquity,
andpasseth by the transgression...(Micah7:18a)

Thousands of rams and
Ten thousand rivers of oil for
Four thousand years

Then came the Scandalous Night...

Only the Body and Blood Satisfied
 -Angels & Demons kneeled
-Justice and Mercy kissed
In God’s Majestic Glory!

elements.


xxiii.

they hated You without a cause
not a purple but a scarlet robe
not the heavy crossbeam
but the stigma of disgrace
an inscription that says Nazareth
but King
your arms raised
down
the Marys were there
but You were all alone
– left by God
from afar they wept
but the world rejoiced
a cheap, sour wine
that resulted to strong words
– My God, My God…
the mocking taunts
a repentant thief
a believing centurion
the veil tore
from top
to bottom


My hour has not come
My hour has not come
My hour has not come
The hour has come


blood water flow
the sun
turned into darkness
the Enemy against the cross
the Father killing His Son
the most evil act
the most wonderful loving act
the most miscarriage of justice
the greatest satisfaction of justice
He borrowed a grave
but he owned everything
even our sins

paradox.


xxiv.


The angry thorns
created an applauding blood
to drip in Your face

The nails
that made Your ankle crossed the other
and arms raised down
are my unbendable links to You

The soldier’s spear
made sure Your death becomes mine

sealed.


xxv.

In the sixth hour
the Holy One turned out the sun.
He disappeared
until the ninth hour

"My God, my God…”
He cried out−
God forsaken by God

“Tetelestai…”
Again He cried out −
God accepted Him back

The bells can no longer be heard
The Holy of Holies
exposed was to everyone

tombs will spit out
those who come by faith
like the centurion
quickened by the Spirit

rocks will split
to hide the faces
of those who refuse to believe

miracles





































Thursday, April 2, 2015

Season of Shame Part 5

Conclusion of the Meal


He took the cup
and said, ‘I will not
no more drink
of this fruit
of the vine’
but He did not
dash the cup
to the ground
for He said,
‘until I drink it new
with you’






farewell.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Season of Shame Part 4

Arrangement for Betrayal
Mt.26:14-16; Mk.14:10-11; Lk.22: 3-6

 
three hundred denarii
worth of spikenard
broke the heart of Judas
so he went to the chief priests
to sell his service.
they were glad ,
he was glad
the perfect informant
for the perfect Lamb
thirty pieces of  silver
was added
to his money box

 
betrayal.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Season of Shame Part 3

Official Challenge of Christ’s Authority
Mt. 21:23-22:40; Mk.11:27-12: 34; Lk.20:1-40

 
The chief priests, scribes and elders
questioned His authority
the Herodians came and
questioned him about the tribute money
the Sadducees tried him upon
the subject of the resurrection
a lawyer asked him which
was the greatest commandment

 unfriendly eyes
examined Him from head to foot−
spotless, beautiful.
unblemished.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Season of Shame Part 2

i. Cursing of the Fig Tree
Matt. 21:18-19a; Mark 11:12-14

 
He wants to eat
a sweet fig
so He search the tree
by the road side
from the trunk
to the topmost—
all leaves, no figs
the twelve heard it
and the pretentious tree
Withered at once


 cursed.



ii. The Son of Man Purifies the Temple

the temple market place
He paralyzed with fear
He swept the buyers and sellers
and purged the floor
with a winnowing hand
He calls it a den of thieves
a house of robbers
He did the same
three years earlier
Woe to you O Jerusalem!
Will you still not be made clean?

 
cleansing.


iii. The Greeks Seek Jesus

Jewish leaders
in their uncircumcised heart
watch Him for
blasphemy or perjury.
Certain Greeks
desire to see Him
and sit with Him
at the table.

 
wish.


iv. Jesus Announces His Death
 
Our Deliverer has Come!
Our Deliverer has Come!
the Jews thought
this is their time ─
a political revolution
against Roman oppression ─
His respond pointed
To His impending death
I will be lifted up
I will be lifted up

 

imminent.

 
v. The Unbelief of the People
 

in the morning
the people gathered
to the temple
expecting Him
but He – the giver
of morning light
was not there
time’s up
time’s up
it’s too late
it’s too late
the sun had set
the darkness
complete

 
judgment.

 

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Season of Shame Part 1

Triumphal entry
Zech 9:9, Daniel 9:24–26


two great tides of people
formed a wall
like Red Sea 
parted by The Almighty 

Hosanna! Hosanna!

the stones 
are ready to praise
the palms 
bow in worship
the followers
carpeted the street
the Pharisees 
are greatly offended
the disciples 
failed to grasp
its meaning
His grief
was very great

for a while at least,
the crowd is upon
His side

king.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

New Year, New Baby

Asiel [Ä€’sÄ­el]—God hath made (1 Chron. 4:35).
Born:Jan. 1, 2015@ 2:42pm

Thursday, September 18, 2014

"Making Love" at 3AM

Here's a poem that I created while reading John R.W Stott's The Message of Romans at 3 o'clock in the morning (and can't fall back asleep which I consistently do in the past couple of years, low blood sugar perhaps).


Chemistry (or Mystery) of Love

Your divine body
my frail body
as we lie side by
side in antinomy

i hugged my arms
You held me close
Your embrace
didn't crush my bones

Your very heart was dissolved
that i trembled and was forced
to adore, kneel and praise
Your glorious grace

Yet the mystery
remains


Note: lie side by side is not from EE Cummings but from Stott (p.251)

Monday, September 1, 2014

Book Hunting

Great finds at NBS bargain sale in MoA:
For my 2 daughters. Lots of humor. 
My favorite subject in college













A steal for 50 each


Click to view. My favorite script hahaha




Friday, July 4, 2014

an erasure poem I’ve created for THE FOUND POETRY REVIEWfrom chapter 9 of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


Still


you, the visible incarnation 
an exquisite dream 
away, you were still present 

You would not have understood it 
I hardly understood it myself 

the Realism 
is always more abstract 

The colour
The peril 

this strange confession
strange idolatry

Friday, April 25, 2014

A Poem I've Stolen from Spurgeon

The sea saw it, and fled. 
Psalm 114:3

The waves on either side
Unloose their close embraces, and divide,
And backwards press, as in some solemn show
The crowding people do,
(Though just before no space was seen,)
To let the admired triumph pass between.

The wondering army saw on either hand,
The no less wondering waves like rocks of crystal stand.
They marched betwixt, and boldly trod
The secret paths of God. 

Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Samantha's 4th Birthday


My wife painted this portrait of Sam on her 4th birthday.

Friday, January 10, 2014

So, who’s responsible?

No rate design is able to perfectly fulfill all of the intended roles. Rather, each rate design must be judged on how it balances all of the conflicting objectives and not just on how well it achieves any single objective.   - Kenneth Gordon, Jeff D. Makholm, Retail Cost Recovery and Rate Design in a Restructured Environment , NERA Economic Consulting

While it is true that markets for electricity are more susceptible to manipulation than markets for other products, the recent price hike of electricity apparently has nothing to do with abuse of market power or flaws in electricity market design but it is the result of poor planning and MERALCO’s immunity to automatic cost adjustment (ACA)/”pass-through” mechanism.

The ACA/pass-through mechanism without safeguard, to borrow the words of Stephen Wallace, does not provide a very good regulatory approach as it creates a moral hazard. The moral hazard arises because the purchaser does not have an incentive to act prudently. That is, the purchaser does not take the full consequences and responsibilities of the price it pays for a generator/supplier, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it would otherwise.[1]

Facts:

1. The Malampaya gas field shutdown in November is not the first. There were similar shutdowns in the past.

2. MERALCO and concern government agencies have known as early as October the scheduled shutdown.

Questions:

1. Why MERALCO did not seek comfort in the so-called option contract to limit its exposure to spot market? It did enter into a short term bilateral contract but only with Therma Mobile Inc. (TMO) owned by the Aboitiz group (ERC Case No. 2013-196 RC) for a maximum contracted capacity of 234 MW and an effective rate of about PhP11/kWh. Under normal condition (i.e. base load power plants are online), MERALCO’s typical exposure to the WESM is more than 500 MW. MERALCO should have contracted with other peaking plants like the 225 MW Bauang and 600MW Limay plants.

2. MERALCO should also explain why it offered to WESM the PhP62/kWh price cap for the energy generation of TMO (MERALCO President Oscar Reyes mentioned something on the must-offer-rule during the hearing). Under its supply contract, MERALCO decides on the bids of Therma Mobile in the WESM. Is this a blunder, greed or insensitivity?

Funny thing is, Aboitiz might have purchased its own TMO generation from WESM at five times the generation price to cover contract commitments to MERALCO due to the force outage of Pagbilao coal fired power plant during the same period.

3. Why the PSALM-owned 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power plant in Rizal wasn’t operating?  In early 2010, the System Operator (SO) NGCP put on almost continuous must run status the said plant during the maintenance outage of the Malampaya gas field that also coincided with force outage of several base load power plants.

The excuse of PSALM that it would not be able to recover costs even if it will bid at PhP62.00/kWh is ridiculous since the generating cost of a peaking plant like Malaya is less than PhP15/kWh. We all know that a big gap in supply and demand is costly.

Bottom-line: MERALCO is liable. MERALCO is not just a “collecting agent” but it has the obligation to source its electricity supply in the “least cost manner” as stated in Section 23 of the EPIRA. MERALCO, with the help of ERC and the DOE, could have implemented emergency measures to address the demand requirements which they did during similar shutdowns in the past. Sad thing is the DOE and the ERC sort of tolerated MERALCO’s improper planning and insensitivity.

The last-minute fixes made by the tripartite committee to reduce the cap to PhP32 from PhP62 per kWh after the senate hearing is a classic example of regulatory uncertainty.  This is similar to the way ERC handled the application for approval of the Ancillary Service Procurement Agreement (ASPA) between the NGCP and Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) during the congressional inquiry on Mindanao power crisis.

Post Script:

The disjointed questioning of senators during the initial hearing left three brilliant quips (not exactly the transcript, ito lang yung mga natandaan ko):

Sen. Bam Aquino: Gaano katagal ang approval ng mga application para magtayo ng planta?

DOE Usec: Mga  2-3 years po. [I’m not sure about the period basta matagal plus idagdag mo pa yung ERC rate application]

SBA: Yun na nga ang point ko, paano natin ma-encourage ang mga investor pag ganyan katagal.
------
Sen. Allan Cayetano: Bakit cost-based pricing? Paano kung ang market price is mas mababa?

[His reaction to ERC Commissioner Victoria Taruc’s connotation that cost-based regulation is synonymous with ‘consumer protection’.]
-----
Sen. Trillanes: Huwag po nating sabihin na wala tayong magagawa! Marami po tayong magagawa!

[I guess this is his reaction to Petilla’sWhat can we do…? Don’t buy, kung namamahalan kayo!” and to the ERC’s “Mas lalo namang hindi maganda kung mag-brown out tayo”. Enough to cover his apparent lack of knowledge in electricity pricing.]


[1] GENERATION AND CONTRACTS REFERENCE PRICING, p.11

Thursday, October 31, 2013

My New Tote

After many years of use, my worn Pedro tote was finally replaced. Thanks to my wife, she gave me a Travelon polyester RFID tote (as a protest to my loyalty to old Pedro). It’s the same size but the strap is quite long and a little bit girly so I made some modifications:

1.  I adjusted the strap to make it proportional and solid.
2.  The ruffle makes it girly so I patched it with a piece of camouflage taken  from the old bag.
3.  I added a metal military insignia which is also from the worn tote.
4.  I removed the body strap (out-dated fashion).

And now the brawny tote:

Monday, October 14, 2013

Numbers 21

The Brazen Serpent
was lifted up. Look!
It is naught but “Look!”
It is simply “Look!”
If thou canst but look
to Jesus, thou art safe.

Hear the voice of the Redeemer:
“look unto me, and be ye saved.”
Look! Look! Look!
O guilty souls.


Adopted from a sermon The Carnal Mind Enmity Against God delivered on, April 22, 1855, by C.H. SPURGEON at Exeter Hall, Strand.


All of Grace

I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Romans 9:15



The greatest preface ever written
—a Divine act as Creation, or Providence, or Resurrection
—a garment without seam, woven from the top throughout

When it comes unto us, is like
a firebrand dropped into the sea where
it would certainly be quenched were
it not of such a miraculous quality that
it baffles the water and sets up
its reign of fire and light even in the depths!

This live coal from off the altar can
only be gripped by the hands of faith.

—it kills and makes alive!

“Not as the world gives, give I unto you,”


—Adapted from a sermon All of Grace delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle , Newington


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Out-O-Focus


What is focus - & who has a right to say what focus is the legitimate focus?
                                                                      - JULIA MARGARET CAMERON
                                                                         Pioneer Photographer

Hana (my 5 y/o daughter) capturing a series of good out-of-focus shot using a flip Samsung phone.