On July 26, 1984, a singing quartet serenaded a newly married couple, one Babeth Lolarga and one Rolly Fernandez, at their reception at Nielsen Tower on Makati Ave. The musicians just rendered two songs: "Bayan Ko," which moved their godfather Armando J. Malay to stand up and raise a clenched fist all throughout the singing, and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree," a lighthearted ditty that took the edge off the first song.
Forward to the same day and month 25 years later. There were more than 25 songs sung that evening at Cafe Juanita. Days before, the fretful newsman in Fernandez worried that GMA might just spoil everybody's plans, including ours, by declaring a state of emergency at her hopefully last SONA. His fear never came to pass. But six days later, the death of Mrs. Aquino began galvanizing Filipinos again to unite against injustice, corruption and the assorted excesses of GMA. And once again I see yellow ribbons wherever I turn--around pine trees, at the Volante Pizza parlor's posts, etc.,--and the cheesy song about receiving a letter telling me I'll soon be free is so very in again.
One of our anniversary singers, journalist Vergel O. Santos, once winked at our First Draft group of women writers, saying: "Don't you just think that getting married is all about perfect timing?
These poems from Edel Garcellano's blog www.theworksofedelgarcellano.wordpress.com do not quite follow the line cuts he did. My stubborn computer refuses to follow the cuts and stanzas that Edel used to fashion these three verses. So they appear here like prose poems (sorry about that, Edel):
7.
A. Anniversary
In a cafe, they are all smiles as she confides over the microphone she & her groom leave well enough each other alone – neither too near nor too far – unlike igneous rocks that upon close contact spark a fire. Goethe’s elective affinity of desire? This: the secret of the feast that stood the text of their own conjugal times. & If the merrymaking among friends, who open doors for the bride’s flair, tells a story for all to learn, it must have been Solomonic for a bonding to steer clear of short-lived passion, embracing instead the cool danger of reason. Gold medal for him visible with ascetic grin? Applause for her who collates goodwill of kith & kin? A toast to hearts who beam at the fairy tale rendition worked out with delicate precision.
B.
At 11pm the celebration was almost done but the singers were still belting out nostalgia as if they had just begun to feel the heat of fun. Outside Cafe Juanita of post American Tertulia, vibrant with old world air & yellow lights from lamps wrapped by silk gowns, the rain had stopped, emitting a scent of late-night cool. & after the formal settling of the bill, rearranging of chairs, plucking of wine bottles off the tipsy tables, the couple would drive home a few blocks away, as if overwhelmed by love’s strange declaration.
C.
They came, singly or in packs, to be with the couple despite the heavy rain. They, who stood through thick & thin of accounted years: laughed at the same tried jokes; exchanged warm toasts; heard the chorus of ersatz troubadours that drew the night to a close. What is there to expect after the celebration of beatitudes? Another 25 years of magical struggle & passionate hope.
Photo by ANNA LEAH SARABIA.
