It is almost mid-spring and the weather in so. California feels like it. Tomorrow is also the last day of National Poetry Month. That said, I am bidding the month of April goodbye and welcoming the month of May, the month of wedding preparation, with two of my poems.
THE ROCK IN MID-SPRING
(Shakespearean sonnet)
The only rock so big with gorgeous top;
Looks like a lion roaring at the sky.
Those naked grass and shrubs in their long nap,
Made desert dry and boring to the eye.
The climate changed; the aura turned around.
I looked below and saw gold carpeting.
Green shrubs throughout and life was on the ground,
So pretty all around; it’s now mid-spring.
Reality sank in; I knew in full.
I was the best before, but now no more.
Those withered plants now green and colorful
Ah, spring, you changed my thought who to adore.
Just one of them, the best that I can claim,
My time is up and now their turn for fame.
(c) edmund melig industan, 2009
I wrote this sonnet to appreciate the green shrubs and desert blooms, that I failed to look at my favorite boulder of rock proudly sitting atop the mountain, as we drove back from Las Vegas, Nevada to Pasadena. Ah! man is like that rock. He doesn't always get the adulation. All man can do is to stay focus and firm. Soon, season will turn again in full circle.
And for those preparing to march down the aisle before the end of spring, here is one of the wedding haiku verses in my gift book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG (Comfort Publishing, 2009).
Marching day and night
White gowns and candle lights
Praise God! He is love.
Take care now, guys.
NOTE: Looking for a wedding gift that is cheaper than a dozen roses? Why not consider giving a copy of my gift book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG? Now available in US, Canada, Japan, France , UK, Germany, and The Netherlands.
Showing posts with label Christian haiku. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian haiku. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
PRAISING ALL..: Featured Book in 9 Local Papers
"Haiku Verses Offer Inspiration", the title of Michelle J. Mills feature column on Pasadena Star News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, and 5 other local papers here in So. California on Sunday, March 15th. Then, she opened her column with a question: "Need a snippet of inspiration or an entire book?"
Reading the words was a joy to me. Why? I tell you why. She was talking about my book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, which has been in the market this month.
Ms. Mills article went on: "Praising All Seasons Long" offers both snippet of inspiration and a book as it is comprised of 145 haiku verses praising God and His gifts throughout the year.
It's true. PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, is a small gift book. It only has 56 pages, but it depicts different events from winter to fall. There are 3-line verses on the shedding of the leaves, the melting of the snow, the blooming of the flowers, the chirping of the birds, the celebration of the resurrection, the observance of Christ's death, the weddings in June, even of gnomes and leprechauns. Spring chapter has these two(2) verses:
Welcome, weather spring
Hot and cold, tornadoes scare.
We are in God's care.
Life springs up so fast.
Wonder how it comes about?
Miracle and love!
Then, as if Ms. Mills thought that I wasn't satisfied already with what she printed, she sent me an email to affirm that her review was honest and sincere. Here's the portion of it:
...I shared your book with my mother and she loved it so
much that she asked to hold on to it for a while. She wants to read
your poetry to one of her friends who is losing her sight. She hopes
it will provide her with inspiration and encouragement.
Thank you,
Michelle
Certainly, I was overjoyed. Nevertheless, I have to give the honor to God. The idea of this book was all coming from Him. I also was having problem at the time God had me wrote the verses. It was a therapy. It was a healing balm. I even didn't know what I was writing when I first got up that night. I was in tears. It was my first time to hold a pen for serious writing after almost three (3) months. Just before I finished writing the last few verses, all my body pain were gone. Joy had shown in my face. I started doing my long distance run again. I was completely healed. PTL!
If you would like to read more of the story behind the writing of PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, kindly visit my new Facebook publisher page, Edmund Melig Industan. I hope and pray that may these haiku verses be a blessing not only to me, but to all who have the chance to read them.
If you have friends and family members who need comfort and encouragement at this time of economic uncertainties, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG is a good gift book to share to them. Priced at $ 9.99, it is cheaper than a dozen roses. It is a good eternal investment.
PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG was published by Comfort Publishing. It can be ordered on Comfort Publishing fb page or online store. It also can be ordered through Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Target.
Reading the words was a joy to me. Why? I tell you why. She was talking about my book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, which has been in the market this month.
Ms. Mills article went on: "Praising All Seasons Long" offers both snippet of inspiration and a book as it is comprised of 145 haiku verses praising God and His gifts throughout the year.
It's true. PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, is a small gift book. It only has 56 pages, but it depicts different events from winter to fall. There are 3-line verses on the shedding of the leaves, the melting of the snow, the blooming of the flowers, the chirping of the birds, the celebration of the resurrection, the observance of Christ's death, the weddings in June, even of gnomes and leprechauns. Spring chapter has these two(2) verses:
Welcome, weather spring
Hot and cold, tornadoes scare.
We are in God's care.
Life springs up so fast.
Wonder how it comes about?
Miracle and love!
Then, as if Ms. Mills thought that I wasn't satisfied already with what she printed, she sent me an email to affirm that her review was honest and sincere. Here's the portion of it:
...I shared your book with my mother and she loved it so
much that she asked to hold on to it for a while. She wants to read
your poetry to one of her friends who is losing her sight. She hopes
it will provide her with inspiration and encouragement.
Thank you,
Michelle
Certainly, I was overjoyed. Nevertheless, I have to give the honor to God. The idea of this book was all coming from Him. I also was having problem at the time God had me wrote the verses. It was a therapy. It was a healing balm. I even didn't know what I was writing when I first got up that night. I was in tears. It was my first time to hold a pen for serious writing after almost three (3) months. Just before I finished writing the last few verses, all my body pain were gone. Joy had shown in my face. I started doing my long distance run again. I was completely healed. PTL!
If you would like to read more of the story behind the writing of PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, kindly visit my new Facebook publisher page, Edmund Melig Industan. I hope and pray that may these haiku verses be a blessing not only to me, but to all who have the chance to read them.
If you have friends and family members who need comfort and encouragement at this time of economic uncertainties, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG is a good gift book to share to them. Priced at $ 9.99, it is cheaper than a dozen roses. It is a good eternal investment.
PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG was published by Comfort Publishing. It can be ordered on Comfort Publishing fb page or online store. It also can be ordered through Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Target.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
PRAISE GOD! HE WOKE ME UP!
I hibernated.
I didn’t sing in four years.
Thursday was my first.
e. industan
I was a member of a Bible College choir which toured in other Philippine provinces in the 70s and sang bass in a quartet. Besides the church choir, I also was a member of a Singing Christmas Tree, one December, in Port Arthur, Texas. Climbing up that 36-foot Christmas tree-shaped choir loft when all the lights were out; then suddenly hearing the “oh’s and ah” of the audience once the flashing colored tree lights were turned on, a second before we sang the first note of the Christmas cantata, was exhilarating.
However, I hibernated for four years like a ground squirrel at winter time. My love for singing was below normal heavily affected by the changing times. Praise God! I finally woke up.
This past Thursday, I opened my mouth again to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”. I signed in to join the Sanctuary Choir at Lake Avenue Church, the biggest church in Pasadena, California.
And surprised! It’s my first to know that past the church’s underground parking garage is the music department office where the choir rehearsals are held. For four years of regular attendance at Lake Avenue Church’s eleven o’clock Sunday service, I wasn’t aware of this.
I started to get nervous while I took the elevator down to the church basement. Mind you, I even stuck my name tag upside down without realizing it. Thanks to Richard, whose eyes was not only sharp enough to see those dotted quarter notes but also keen to see (and congenially corrected) the tag. The Sanctuary Choir has more than a hundred members, so imagine me intimidated. Nevertheless, I started to relax after the opening prayer, which was followed by muscle and voice stretching and constant “phonology” reminder- for us to enunciate the plosive bilabial /p/ and /b/, the velar /k/ and whatnot's- as the rehearsal went on. As if I was back in my phonology graduate course, but I loved it.
I know; God has blessed me with a voice fit for a choir; however, there were some unpleasant moments in my life that I wittingly withdrew from using it. A huge blow happened seven months ago, but it also was a turning point for me to hone the inherent talent that God has given me. I thank God for He patiently waited for me to sing praises again.
NOTE: Besides singing, God also has gifted me a talent in creative writing. My second book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses has just been released by Comfort Publishing. It is a gift book with 145 praise haiku verses, which can be ordered now on Comfort’s online store. Barnes and Noble bookstore also has announced that it will be carrying PRAISING… beginning March. Barnes and Noble is now accepting pre-orders. A discounted price of $8.99 is offered to bookstore’s subscribers. Surely, it is cheaper than a dozen roses and a better gift to people who needs affirmation that our God is still in control of everything, despite this time of trials and uncertainties.
Currently, I am working on the HEALING GARDEN OF VERSES, a collection of haiku and senryu verses, and pitching to a publisher my completed book project, BEDTIME-PASTIME: A Collection of Short Stories and Folktales.
I didn’t sing in four years.
Thursday was my first.
e. industan
I was a member of a Bible College choir which toured in other Philippine provinces in the 70s and sang bass in a quartet. Besides the church choir, I also was a member of a Singing Christmas Tree, one December, in Port Arthur, Texas. Climbing up that 36-foot Christmas tree-shaped choir loft when all the lights were out; then suddenly hearing the “oh’s and ah” of the audience once the flashing colored tree lights were turned on, a second before we sang the first note of the Christmas cantata, was exhilarating.
However, I hibernated for four years like a ground squirrel at winter time. My love for singing was below normal heavily affected by the changing times. Praise God! I finally woke up.
This past Thursday, I opened my mouth again to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”. I signed in to join the Sanctuary Choir at Lake Avenue Church, the biggest church in Pasadena, California.
And surprised! It’s my first to know that past the church’s underground parking garage is the music department office where the choir rehearsals are held. For four years of regular attendance at Lake Avenue Church’s eleven o’clock Sunday service, I wasn’t aware of this.
I started to get nervous while I took the elevator down to the church basement. Mind you, I even stuck my name tag upside down without realizing it. Thanks to Richard, whose eyes was not only sharp enough to see those dotted quarter notes but also keen to see (and congenially corrected) the tag. The Sanctuary Choir has more than a hundred members, so imagine me intimidated. Nevertheless, I started to relax after the opening prayer, which was followed by muscle and voice stretching and constant “phonology” reminder- for us to enunciate the plosive bilabial /p/ and /b/, the velar /k/ and whatnot's- as the rehearsal went on. As if I was back in my phonology graduate course, but I loved it.
I know; God has blessed me with a voice fit for a choir; however, there were some unpleasant moments in my life that I wittingly withdrew from using it. A huge blow happened seven months ago, but it also was a turning point for me to hone the inherent talent that God has given me. I thank God for He patiently waited for me to sing praises again.
NOTE: Besides singing, God also has gifted me a talent in creative writing. My second book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses has just been released by Comfort Publishing. It is a gift book with 145 praise haiku verses, which can be ordered now on Comfort’s online store. Barnes and Noble bookstore also has announced that it will be carrying PRAISING… beginning March. Barnes and Noble is now accepting pre-orders. A discounted price of $8.99 is offered to bookstore’s subscribers. Surely, it is cheaper than a dozen roses and a better gift to people who needs affirmation that our God is still in control of everything, despite this time of trials and uncertainties.
Currently, I am working on the HEALING GARDEN OF VERSES, a collection of haiku and senryu verses, and pitching to a publisher my completed book project, BEDTIME-PASTIME: A Collection of Short Stories and Folktales.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A HOPE IN GOD
Where can I turn to?
There’s rainbow after the rain.
Hope and promise giv’n.
With uncertainties in life, people ask on what to do and where to turn to to get by. Burglary, even bank holdups, has been on the rise. Recently, a TV news showed a clip of two guys demanding money from a carwash. Just this week, a Southern Californian TV reported that the business of fortune tellers is booming since the economic crunch. Last Sunday, our church announced a Job Search Meeting for members who have been downsized by their employers.
I never will forget a story I heard during my childhood. A child was crying continuously for he was hungry. Unfortunately, the family has nothing to give him. Like everybody else, their small farm was hit by a swarm of locust. There was very little left to eat. The father tried to calm the child down, but to no avail. Then, they heard a sound, "Wak! Wak! Wak!". (Wakwak is known to be a witch, who turns into a bird at nighttime to prey on human beings.)
The father said, "Keep quiet! There's a "wakwak" flying.
The child responded, "Catch it! I am going to eat it!"
People have the tendency to do anything to survive.
There were times I have thought of unpleasant things when I hit bottom. But I thank God that he always have been patient to show me the right way. Going back to God's Word, allowed me to remember how God used the rainbow to show his promise for a worldwide deluge not to happen again. He allowed me to see a ray of hope in Him. And I have a great faith that no matter what, God would never fail me.
I pray that you, too, will find hope in God. He is just a prayer away.
God bless you, my friend.
(NOTE: PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, my newly published gift book which can be purchased through www.comfortpublishing.com, attests how God has been so good to me in time of need. May the book be a source of comfort and encouragement to others, especially this time of uncertainties.)
There’s rainbow after the rain.
Hope and promise giv’n.
With uncertainties in life, people ask on what to do and where to turn to to get by. Burglary, even bank holdups, has been on the rise. Recently, a TV news showed a clip of two guys demanding money from a carwash. Just this week, a Southern Californian TV reported that the business of fortune tellers is booming since the economic crunch. Last Sunday, our church announced a Job Search Meeting for members who have been downsized by their employers.
I never will forget a story I heard during my childhood. A child was crying continuously for he was hungry. Unfortunately, the family has nothing to give him. Like everybody else, their small farm was hit by a swarm of locust. There was very little left to eat. The father tried to calm the child down, but to no avail. Then, they heard a sound, "Wak! Wak! Wak!". (Wakwak is known to be a witch, who turns into a bird at nighttime to prey on human beings.)
The father said, "Keep quiet! There's a "wakwak" flying.
The child responded, "Catch it! I am going to eat it!"
People have the tendency to do anything to survive.
There were times I have thought of unpleasant things when I hit bottom. But I thank God that he always have been patient to show me the right way. Going back to God's Word, allowed me to remember how God used the rainbow to show his promise for a worldwide deluge not to happen again. He allowed me to see a ray of hope in Him. And I have a great faith that no matter what, God would never fail me.
I pray that you, too, will find hope in God. He is just a prayer away.
God bless you, my friend.
(NOTE: PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG, my newly published gift book which can be purchased through www.comfortpublishing.com, attests how God has been so good to me in time of need. May the book be a source of comfort and encouragement to others, especially this time of uncertainties.)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: HAIKU VERSES
"SEASON'S A HAIKU.
IT'S SWEET, BUT SHORT AND CONTAINED.
GLEAN AND ENJOY IT."
e.industan
There are many events in a season. Often times they are sweet; sometimes bitter. The good ones, like the holidays, we wanted them extended. The bad ones, like winter storm and devastating wild fire, we wanted them shortened. And if we couldn't, we express our discontent.
Truly, life is a season and season is a haiku. It is short. Events are generally, with some exception of course, contained. We need toenjoy every bit of it and hope that when the next cycle comes, it would b e much better than the past.
Problem is...patience in us is too short. Before we know it, we already are yawning...then, whining...then (to some extreme) wining. We forget the best of the season. Many forget God. We try to overcome our worries without God,just to realize later that without God,we really can't do much better; hence not completely satisfied, because we are nothing, just an aging economic man.
Why am I saying this? Because I have experienced it. And the only thing that made me overcome and regained my strength was to look at what's going on in every season and see the goodness of God in them and in me.
The book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses, says it. Praising has just been off the press yesterday and can now be purchased through COMFORT PUBLISHING website store. It is a good gift book this holiday season and throughout the year. Price is just $ 9.99 +s/h. I would appreciate it if you could get your copy. Thanks.
I hope and pray that may God uses the book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses to bless you and others.
Merry Christmas.
IT'S SWEET, BUT SHORT AND CONTAINED.
GLEAN AND ENJOY IT."
e.industan
There are many events in a season. Often times they are sweet; sometimes bitter. The good ones, like the holidays, we wanted them extended. The bad ones, like winter storm and devastating wild fire, we wanted them shortened. And if we couldn't, we express our discontent.
Truly, life is a season and season is a haiku. It is short. Events are generally, with some exception of course, contained. We need toenjoy every bit of it and hope that when the next cycle comes, it would b e much better than the past.
Problem is...patience in us is too short. Before we know it, we already are yawning...then, whining...then (to some extreme) wining. We forget the best of the season. Many forget God. We try to overcome our worries without God,just to realize later that without God,we really can't do much better; hence not completely satisfied, because we are nothing, just an aging economic man.
Why am I saying this? Because I have experienced it. And the only thing that made me overcome and regained my strength was to look at what's going on in every season and see the goodness of God in them and in me.
The book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses, says it. Praising has just been off the press yesterday and can now be purchased through COMFORT PUBLISHING website store. It is a good gift book this holiday season and throughout the year. Price is just $ 9.99 +s/h. I would appreciate it if you could get your copy. Thanks.
I hope and pray that may God uses the book, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses to bless you and others.
Merry Christmas.
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