Revision of Ilonggo Poem! :D

I put this poem to the Filipino community to help me see what corrections might be needed. I got some great feedback. Here's what Amerigo Rosal corrected it to be.

"Amo Lang ni!"

"Basta himuon mo ni subong;

Agud wala madula nga tini-on,

Amo gid lang na siya!"

Amo na siling niya.

Limtan ko ang iyang panabton.

Kag karon iyang na ko bakulon!

-Revision by Amerigo Rosal

The old poem read,

Amo ‘ni Lang

“Basta, himuon mo 'ni subong;

Agud walang dula tion,

Amo gid lang ‘na si-ya!”

Amo ‘na ang siling niya.

‘Lipatan ko ang iyang sab'ton.

Sa akon na iyang bak'lon.

-By Jacob Scott

A Good Slap of Poetry

I’ve found that people are busy. Most have little taste for poetry beyond what they ingest by osmosis and happenstance, and even that often against their will. Even the fan of poetry, or reading in general, is far too busy for it and would rather be slapped quickly in the face with it than be taken down the long and lovely scenic road of writing. 

Yes, occasionally a reader wants nothing more than to be taken down the rabbit hole of literature and be happy never to return; but more often it is the short and sweet or instantly bitter then gone poetry that this hapless generation can’t help but prefer.

Please Feel Free...

Please feel free to click on each post and comment or ask questions, especially on the poems as I explain some of their background and feelings as I wrote them and their meanings for me.

Thank you to my Filipino friends and other mission companions who commented on my links on facebook. Thanks also to my family for their support, critique, and encouragement in this journey of writing.

For the Joy of the Written Word!

Of all the many and varied motivations to put one’s words in the medium of writing, I can think of few better reasons than for the simple pleasure of the art-form. I don’t want to confuse this with just the desire to entertain. I mean writing in a broader sense, all writing that has purpose in communication, even to one’s self alone. Writing that goes from the heart to the hand to the page and returns to its creator in dividends of understanding, learning and growth, mental stretching and creativity, and entertainment. To project a unique perspective from the invisible realm of the mind to the physical world is among the single greatest abilities we possess.
-Jacob Scott

First a Few Wise Words

A writer clinging to creativity must not read another’s work, lest his subconscious be tempted and he plagiarize. True this! The only alternative is to read everything, until your mind cannot help but realize that nothing is truly new, only re-imagined.
-Jacob Scott

My Works of Wont

These are the works of my own wont. (Look up "wont" if you need to) Read them at your pleasure as I will write as I want, when I want, and how I want, to the best of my own abilities and as far as I myself at least am satisfied. 

But if even one soul (myself included) finds enrichment in their time reading these works know that my greatest joy will have been fulfilled. 

And so I am obliged to provide the best work my human weakness can afford, first to myself, and then to this filled yet lonely world.

-Jacob A. Scott