CIGARETTES
-Bum Makalawa-
and we realize this:
that no matter how long,
how bright, how beautiful
we burn,
we have all been designed
to burn out
and this light that we hail,
this light that we seek,
this light that we celebrate,
will also be the same light
that will make the shadows
all too visible when the ashes
close in for the inevitable kill.
i came across this poem in an ikot jeep on the way to god-knows-where in up. i was with bong the first time i saw it, and the second was with ese when we watched insiang...
for a smoker, i guess i can give various explanations, numerous insights on this work... but i guess the first thing that struck me was just the night before i read this, i was comparing myself to a cigarette stick...
a person is one cigartte. your purpose is to relax the nerves of the moker. but to do that, you have to be burned by the smoker. for a while, you become the center of attention, perhaps one of the most beautiful sight to behold, one end burning, giving the needed heat and essences that the smoker yearns for. some may be irritated by your smell, amy not appreciate your beauty and use, but still you burn, fulfilling your purpose and brigning joy to your master....
and then it ends... you run out of paper and tobacco to burn... you lose against the struggle with time... with air... try as you might, you are burnt out, used up by the smoker... after everything you gave, everything you did, with just a flick, poof! you're gone...
life's like that, i guess... you win some, you lose some....
how sad life could be... and how beautiful....
there could never be beauty and joy without pain... without sacrificing a part of yourself to bring that happiness to another... selfish though it may seem, that you just want to fulfill your goals in life, underneath it all is the hunger to please others...
people are all like that beneath the masks that we wear... we are all alike... we make up reasons to hide that part of ourself that is like a child who is doing everything to bring joy and pride to his/her parents..
am i still making sense or have i digressed from the topic? | 
