Poetic Isolation

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In the Next Life

In the next life,

‎I could be your mother,

‎I'd give you your name and celebrate you

‎Even before the world does.

‎Be the first to soothe your wounds,

‎Hold your hands as you take your baby steps.

‎

‎In the next life,

‎I could be your wife.

‎I'd make your coffee every morning,

‎And say a prayer for you each night.

‎I'd never say goodbye,

‎And I'd hold your hands till one of us dies.

‎

‎In the next life,

‎I could be your child.

‎I'd look up to you and grow into your footsteps.

‎Maybe we'd share the same smile,

‎Or same hazel eyes.

‎I might hate your sermons but laugh at all your dad jokes.

‎

‎In the next life,

‎Will you leave a space to love me

‎If you don’t have it in this one?

* C.D, December 4, 2025

Strawberry Apples and You

‎I went to the market and saw

‎something familiar and new.

‎They're called

‎strawberry apples,

‎And somehow they remind me of you.

‎

‎As I bite into its crispy flesh,

‎I tasted the delicate truth

‎You've bravely shared.

‎Sweet juicy thoughts came

‎over me:

‎Such loving God we have,

‎Who hand-painted and gave life to

‎Strawberry apples and to you.

‎

- Cristine Despares

‎

‎I Talked to Poseidon About You

I've been sailing solo

‎for some time.

‎Drifting in the sea of

‎shallow new waters,

‎I've seen too many fishes

‎come and go. Vicious sharks, too.

‎Dearest, I got to be honest,

‎I still feel the waves of the past.

‎Questions float in my mind:

‎should I go with the flow or

‎go against the tide?

‎

‎At 30, I never knew how to swim

‎but lately, I find this azure heart

‎ready to dive into love,

‎hoping to see you in the deepest sea,

‎certain that 36,070 feet feels safe

‎when I'm with you.

‎You might find this strange,

‎maybe funny too,

‎as I sink into the ocean of dreams,

‎I've been asking Poseidon

‎to carry these thoughts

‎to waters that lead to you.

‎

- Cristine Despares

Home Bound Drive

I still remember the day

you held my hand and told me,

you can drive for eternity

all I have to do is wrap my arms

tighter around you.

Going through this new route with you,

I've lost count of the stop signs we've ignored.

Turning red lights to green,

always choosing to make love win.

I swear, I'll put a brake on my fast thoughts,

so my words won't crash and hit you.

Do you know that I always believe in you?

You're the one I want my ma and pa to meet; that's also true.

My lover, will you still drive with all the baggage I carry with me?

What if I tell you that I left

all the reasons to love me at a gas station?

Will I be enough to hit the road with you?

Twenty years from now, when I no longer look like the singer you adore,

when I can't make you blush like a teenager with a crush anymore,

Will love still be enough for you to drive me home?

Hot Chocolate

Delicate gypsophilas,

sensual rabbit tails and roses

turning to late afternoon café hues.

Seasons change;

just when I thought

everything around me is getting

old and cold,

I saw the beauty of beginnings

in dried things.

Cold was this year

but it brought me to

your warmth.

I longed and chased

a ghost - that was my biggest crime.

I remember you said

you're haunted by a phantom

while we're in an empty overpass.

I've met you

for only one season

which feels like a lifetime.

We were a pair of cocoa beans

hardened by the past,

but now the only darkness

I know is a cup of hot chocolate

when I'm with you.

Just when I decided

to be a plain cold brew,

I found the creamier side

of me in you.

No witty plots.

No dirty politics.

You make this love

look like a house

I could always go home to.

You make this love

feel like a hot chocolate

in an autumn day

I never knew.

10/18/'20

Cristine A. D

Somewhere in Chiba,
A wholeness of a once
Fruitful life is
now
kept in a single box.
Why?, I asked the orchestra
of the June rain.
It took an image
of a single box,
for me to disembowel life
one of its secrets:
We are all buds
Of a single tree.
The tree is a plum blossom.
A single bud fell somewhere in Chiba;
I felt its loneliness.
I asked the tropical Filipino air
to heed fast,
to grasp,
and to take my little prayers
somewhere in Chiba.
I pray that
soon, somewhere in Chiba,
a forever summer
will thaw the winter
in the heart of a friend.

Somewhere in Chiba,
wander woman decides to go home.
I think she, too, knows
that
in Chiba
where my feet have never set,
some hearts have wept.

(May 2020)
|| 💮🌸 RIP Camille-san. I placed your photo beside the Virgin Mary, Mother Mediatrix of All Grace so she may be with you wherever you are.

Epilogue

We are safe and sound.
Our minds are sanitised.
Our worries antibacterial.
Our dreams are non-biodegradable
piles inside paper boxes.

The grocery store owners
are poets.
There is poetry inside our
canned goods - a long overdue collection
ready to serve.
Read it, please.

An eulogy of a once infected heart
has decomposed;
now married with the earth
long after we lived.
Everyone's okay.
You're okay.
I no longer check the safety notification
button inside your chest.
In a glass window
of a fastfood restaurant,
I watched you dine together with your wife.
You pulled apart a wishbone.
Why put its soul back?

It's 4am when I started writing
this poem,
but I can still hear the echoes
of your midnight songs
asking me when the dawn will come.

-Cristine Despares
Epilogue | 2020 Quarantine Poem

Bonsai and Suiseki Art Thrives at Sanib Pwersa: Bonsai Competition and Suiseki Exhibits

Bonsai "tray planting" is a Japanese art form using trees grown in containers. Its rich history can be traced back to ancient China before making its way to Japan. Although the art is considered ancient, with the number of trends following WWII, it made its way to the modern world which continues to thrive globally.

In the Philippines, a group of Bonsai buffs formed what is now called Philippine Bonsai Society Inc. (PBSI). What started as an informal group in 1973, is now a growing non-stock and non-profit association that continues to relive the art of Bonsai cultivation and propagation through various events such as competitions and art exhibits.

Following its visions, PBSI, in partnership with SM Supermalls, presented Sanib Pwersa: An Extraordinary Gathering of Cebu's finest Bonsai and Suiseki Collection. 🌳 Two affiliations also joined forces during the event - Cebu Bonsai Society and Cebu Suiseki Society. Both are affiliates of PBSI and Natural Stone Society of the Philippines.

The art exhibition was put together at the Mountain Wing area of SM Seaside Cebu. The 3-day exhibit which started last July 7 and ended on July 9, 2017, deeply encourages mall-goers to witness and appreciate nature via the art of Bonsai and Suiseki. Sanib Pwersa (Join Forces) featured bonsai of different species and stones in different sizes and shapes. Suiseki is described as the art of appreciating naturally occurring rocks.

Before cutting the ribbon to formally open the exhibition, distinguished guests mostly composed of artists and art enthusiasts witnessed Cebu Bonsai Society's induction of new officers and the awarding of winners for the bonsai competition. More than 20 winners emerged from the event. Special awards were also given to artists who came up with innovative in cultivating bonsai.

Bonsai artists and enthusiasts

Sanib Pwersa recipients of Special Awards

Mr. Jess Cuenco, Madam Cuenco, Sanib Pwersa Special Guest Emcee Mr. Jed Sevilla behind them is one of Mr. Cuenco's award-winning piece. The plant is the recipient of the Best Show Award.

Cebu Bonsai Society Vice President Mr. Jesus C. Cuenco received several gold awards and gathered the all the major awards during the event - a first in the Philippine Bonsai history.

Mr. Bobby Gopiao

In his speech, Mr. Bobby Gopiao, PBSI President, said that looks forward to holding global bonsai shows. He lauded the recent programs like the bonsai master class spearheaded by PBSI which has 46 graduating students by the end of this month.

PBSI hopes that their competitions and exhibitions all over the Philippines make it easier among Filipinos to appreciate, cultivate, and propagate the art. PBSI will be sponsoring three international events real soon. One will be in Vietnam this November.

Art workshops were also held in consonance with the art exhibition.