Sabbatical Period Poem by Nenia Arnaiz Dulom

I used to wish before,
To have a little time alone,
Just to be me inside my room,
To be laid-back and be cool,
And to have fun in seclusion.

It was a frequent hope,
Often times when hardships blow,
I would think of a long pause,
For sure to escape and break off,
And be in a state of stupor.

I wanted to shrink or shirk,
Or to get away from my universe,
From my stressful work space,
Or even from my personal problems,
That choked my neck to death.

But the wheel of life veered off,
To a more interesting road,
Lately I thought it would be good,
To make the most of my time
That is gold.

But it’s too late now
To change that hope,
I’m now here at this point,
Restless or languorous,
I don’t know what it holds.

It’s a shame to ever slope,
Toward that careless viewpoint,
Today I realized it’s a wasteful thought,
To flight from reality and truth,
Either it’s in accord or in paradox.

I’ve learned that an interlude,
Is for a reflective mood,
To analyze the cause
And of course the result,
And whatever is involved,
While in function and purpose.

To know the right move,
A sensible action to execute,
So at this point I valued,
The sense of life though ambiguous,
But obvious with complexities and troubles.

I understand today,
That the human dignity,
Is in the toil and effort daily,
To endure and survive actuality,
Of human’s life’s difficulty.


(August 28, 2011)