On the Last Day of the Year

May the old year end with gentleness, and the new one ease in with kindness.

May we go forth with whatever amulets the coming days require.

May we have companionship and solitude, forgiveness and compassion.

May poetry and music soften the hardness of days.

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In this Blip is a treasured strip of bamboo, on which an Ambahan (seven-syllable poem) has been inscribed in the ancient script of the Hanunuo Mangyan in Southeastern Mindoro.

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And here is yesterday's poem-response to The Morning Porch, now up on Via Negativa.