My blog post on THD -A Satire, just recently received so numerous positive comments. It inspired me to write the following poem based from my posting dated June 9, 2026
https://planningtovisitthephilippines.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-last-great-college-campus-my-thd.html
THD: A Senior's Song
Within these walls of THD,
A lively place where elders roam,
One hundred sixty-seven souls
Have turned these halls into a home.
From seventy-five to one-oh-two,
Each carries stories, joys, and tears;
Our hair is silver, backs may bend,
But laughter echoes through the years.
The women here outnumber men
By nearly five to every one;
Some joke that we are "endangered species,"
A rarity beneath the sun.
We gather daily, cards in hand,
For bridge and Mahjong battles grand;
While others dance to Zumba beats
With youthful hearts and careful feet.
The artists paint, the readers meet,
Musicians fill the halls with song;
Excursions lead to museums,
Where friendships quietly grow strong.
And then comes love-a second chance-
Arriving softly, unexpected still;
With canes instead of roses now,
Yet guided by the heart's own will.
Like Queen Bees on the silver screen,
Our little world has plots and plays;
With whispered tales in dining rooms
And smiles that brighten ordinary days.
But one October stands apart,
A memory I hold with pride;
The only Filipino here,
Yet warmly welcomed far and wide.
They asked that I should tell my tale,
Of islands kissed by tropic seas;
Of heroes, history, faith and hope,
Carried across the ocean breeze.
Our dining room became Manila,
For one delicious, festive night;
With adobo, pancit, lumpia too,
Bringing distant memories into sight.
For five evenings our little theater
Displayed my homeland's finest art;
Award-winning Filipino films
Touched every curious heart.
In that brief week I came to see
How cultures blossom when they're shared;
A stranger can become a friend
When stories show that people cared.
Yet every song has minor chords,
And every smile a trace of rain;
For faces come and go too fast,
Leaving behind a quiet pain.
Thirteen staff in three short years
Have vanished from our daily scene;
Some left by choice, some not at all,
Like chapters torn from in-between.
One dear director changed my life
With just three letters-A and I.
He opened up a brand-new world
Where thoughts and words could freely fly.
Each morning now my keyboard waits,
My faithful partner by my side;
Together we explore new paths
With wonder as our daily guide.
Another manager arrived,
Full of promise, calm and bright;
Five weeks later, just like that,
She faded softly from our sight.
We seniors laugh to hide surprise-
"It's quicker than the dessert tray!"
But deep inside we know that roots
Need time before they find their way.
And so I walk these familiar halls,
With cane in hand and grateful eyes;
For life has not grown small with age-
It simply changed its grand disguise.
THD is more than walls and rooms,
Or calendars with games to play;
It is a village where old hearts
Continue learning every day.
The body may surrender speed,
The memory may occasionally roam,
But friendship, laughter, hope, and love
Can make a senior residence a home.
So if you ask what aging means
After ninety years and more,
I'd simply say it's finding joy
Behind another opening door.
For life's last chapter, I have learned,
Needs neither riches nor applause;
Just friends to share another meal,
A story... and a worthy cause.
And if tomorrow brings farewell
To yet another face we know,
We'll treasure every kindness shared
Before it's time for them to go.
For here at THD we prove each day,
With every smile and every art,
That growing old is not the end-
It's youth, rewritten by the heart.
Meanwhile, here's another Poem, I dedicate to All My Fellow residents Here at THD
The Golden Chapter of Our Lives
(An original poem that celebrates the wisdom, memories, and friendships that may resonate with my fellow seniors).
They say the spring belongs to youth,
When dreams are bright and skies are blue;
But autumn holds a deeper truth-
A richer world, a gentler view.
The wrinkles on a smiling face
Are maps of journeys bravely made;
Each line recalls a time and place,
A sunlit path, a cooling shade.
We've loved and lost, we've laughed and cried,
Watched children bloom and seasons change;
Yet hope still walks close by our side,
Though life has wandered far and strange.
Our steps may slow, our hair turn white,
Our voices softer than before;
But hearts still dance with quiet light,
Still dream of opening one more door.
The greatest wealth is not in gold,
Nor titles earned, nor fame's applause;
It lives in stories often told,
In helping hands and worthy cause.
A simple meal, a faithful friend,
A grandchild's hug, a neighbor's smile-
These are treasures without end
That make each passing day worthwhile.
So let us greet each rising sun
With gratitude instead of fear;
For life is never truly done
While love and kindness still are here.
And when our final page is turned,
May those who knew us gently say:
"They lived with grace, they loved, they learned,
And left a little light to guide our way."
My Reel Of the Day: Dancing the Cha Cha with My Cane at Ian's Wedding
https://www.facebook.com/reel/917739835539211
Personal Note: Funny but Sad Incident:
On my way to lunch the other day, I saw a resident trying to make her stuff cat drink water. I told her, her cat is not real, but she just gave me a blank stare, as I walk away. Incidentally the stuff cat looks so real if you don't look at it closely. The above photo looks alike to my real cat Robin.
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