Ang Pangaral ni Tatay

By Justine Denise Cruz

Kapos kami sa pera, Salat kami sa buhay.

Hindi marangya ang aming buhay, Hindi palasyo ang aming bahay.

Sa ilalim ng tirik na araw, Walang reklamong namamasada ang Tatay, May maipangbaon lamang si Ate at si Bunso, Pati na rin ang aming panganay.

Mga kamay na puno ng kalyo

At mga paang manhid katatapak sa preno, Hindi na iniinda ng Tatay ang kirot Masiguro lang na pangarap namin ay aming maabot.

Madalas niya kaming pagsabihan, Lumalaki na raw kami, Hindi raw habangbuhay Siya ay nariyan. “Maging mabuti ka sa iyong kapwa,” Huwag ka raw mangmamata Dahil bukas o sa makalawa, Maaaring ikaw na ang nasa baba.

“Maging mapagbigay ka sa lahat ng pagkakataon,” Sa oras na ikaw ang mangailangan, Tiyak na gagawa ng paraan ang mundo Para ikaw naman ang tulungan.

“Higit sa lahat, ikaw ay magpakatao at maging makatao.” the dry leaves swept by the morning air, as I gently step on them in a rhythmic pattern while I compete against the clock’s whirlwind.

Kapos nga kami sa pera, Salat nga kami sa buhay.

Subalit, hindi naman nagkulang Sa mga pangaral ang Tatay.

For the nth time, my eyes are bathed in vivid colors by the muraled walls of the walkway— psychedelic almost— and surprisingly, I am still not sick of the whole nine yards yet.

Silence is then filled with a consistent crescendo of chitter-chatters and there I saw my Klasmeyts from the other class, waving at me with smiles that pierce through their facemasks.

Who am I to let myself miss the boat? So, I tag along and thereafter, I am not alone in the seemingly never-ending tunnel and I feel like I am on a route for a shortcut I have been mapping. As the finish line comes closer to my sight, I just know that I have won yet another race. And although I am a minute late for my class, it is fun quenching the need of my senses with the beauty of the tiring alley.

A series of stories actively lingers around the open air of the AdU Walkway and it is already engraved therein— a history that the next generations of Adamsonians will witness right before the inquisitiveness of their unpolluted eyes.