One Morning in February
Hypocritic morning.
The sun smiles brightly and paints the sky azure, cloudless and promises the sunny day ahead. A quiet morning and the noisy birds are nowhere to be seen or heard. The traffic is slow, even occasional. The day seems to convey the rural setting of Balete--sleepy, peaceful, complacent, parochial, indolent.
On a closer inspection however, one can notes the frown on some unnamed souls' somber faces. Thin smoke rises in some house betraying the busy morning of preparing the children to be sent to school in compliance of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) mandatory attendance of their school-going age toddlers. The sun was late actually to witness the farmers descent from their nipa hut to inspect the flowering of their rice down the field. A flock of little egrets was busy helping out the hungry farmers in collecting irritating government-introduced golden kooe (kohol). Bereft of signed documents they faithfully affirm the long established critical collaboration forged between man and birds that dates back to the time when water buffaloes where the principal partners of the farmers in preparing their fields. Egrets were tolerated by the carabaos of hunting down bugs and fleas on their back much as the present day farmers tolerated them in hunting down those invincible clones and other pests on their ricefields. Up on leafless branch of a mahogany, a lonely kingfisher perched watching in silence the vast field yonder, jealous of the productive partnership of men and of her own kind.
By mid morning, the sun is already hiding on the commanding grey sky as the Great Gardener waters down the fields of green with graces. Yes indeed, the morning is hypocritic.
The sun smiles brightly and paints the sky azure, cloudless and promises the sunny day ahead. A quiet morning and the noisy birds are nowhere to be seen or heard. The traffic is slow, even occasional. The day seems to convey the rural setting of Balete--sleepy, peaceful, complacent, parochial, indolent.
On a closer inspection however, one can notes the frown on some unnamed souls' somber faces. Thin smoke rises in some house betraying the busy morning of preparing the children to be sent to school in compliance of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) mandatory attendance of their school-going age toddlers. The sun was late actually to witness the farmers descent from their nipa hut to inspect the flowering of their rice down the field. A flock of little egrets was busy helping out the hungry farmers in collecting irritating government-introduced golden kooe (kohol). Bereft of signed documents they faithfully affirm the long established critical collaboration forged between man and birds that dates back to the time when water buffaloes where the principal partners of the farmers in preparing their fields. Egrets were tolerated by the carabaos of hunting down bugs and fleas on their back much as the present day farmers tolerated them in hunting down those invincible clones and other pests on their ricefields. Up on leafless branch of a mahogany, a lonely kingfisher perched watching in silence the vast field yonder, jealous of the productive partnership of men and of her own kind.
By mid morning, the sun is already hiding on the commanding grey sky as the Great Gardener waters down the fields of green with graces. Yes indeed, the morning is hypocritic.
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