“I’ll be expecting your poem tomorrow, ok?”, my friend said to me as we left the room for the night. This was a big night for him: he is going to be married tomorrow.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the best man at the wedding wasn’t able to attend. A week prior to this night, the groom messaged me and said he wanted me to become the best man instead. It was an honor, and of course I obliged.
Now as I lay in bed back in our own room, I thought about his words. “Was he just joking? Was he really expecting a poem?“.
I decided to give it a shot as my eyes were not tired yet. “I’ll think of something before I go to sleep“, I said to myself.
But what do I write?
Some thoughts came to mind. I like to honor our friendship that spanned more than a decade. How happy our group of friends were when we learned that he was going to get married. He was the last single man from my close friends, but he was the most prepared for marriage. And, being married as well, I want to impart some things I learned in my decade of being a husband.
After an hour, my eyes started feeling heavy, but happy that I was able to produce something:
Labing apat na taon
Magkaibigan mula noon hanggang ngayon
Sa patuloy na pagbabago ng panahon
Pag iisip natin ay nananatiling magsang-ayon
Subalit mayroong bumabagabag sa isipan
Sa hinaharap na kinabukasan, may konti pa ding agam-agam
Kayat kami ay natuwa nang sya ay natagpuan
Hazel pala ang kanyang pangalan
Sa inyong pag iisang dibdib, isa lang ang aming hiling
Na magmula ngayon, kayoy mananatiling magkapiling
Mukha ng isat isa ang makikita sa bawat gising
At sa mga pagsubok na darating, patuloy kayong magniningning
The next day, I delivered this poem when I proposed a toast to the newlyweds.
My friend and his wife were happy, and it was a joyful celebration at the reception. In the end, that is the only thing that mattered on that day.
Photo by Lum3n