Words left me speechless

Though this week was loaded with hectic paperworks and incoming-deadline projects, yesterday till today lifted our burdened selves for a while. We followed the Friday schedule yesterday; hence, subjects would be in the morning and in the afternoon, the student body would be watching the Ars Poetica and the Speechfest prepared by the students and faculty members.

And had last-minute assignment of the school publication (Blue and White) photographers. Since our photographers were already overused, as having the authority to lead the school publication artists and photojournalists, I assigned myself, a third year student and a second year student. My co-Layout Editor also had the photography assignment but for CAT. It was good to be a photographer for the organization again. :)

It was our schedule yesterday to watch the Speechfest. Everything was totally amazing, most especially the interpretation of Harry Potter 7 by the second year students. VOLDEMORT WAS AWESOME, I TELL YOU! \m/

Earlier today, we were able to watch Ars Poetica and heck, the poems were a lot better than those during the previous Ars Poetica presentations. The poems were more substantial, and though metaphors and flowering words were used, we were still able to capture the message instilled. And what made us gave a standing-ovation-like uproar was the poem recited by my former Chemistry teacher who is a Math teacher now, Mr. Nigel Javier, and my current Physics teacher and homeroom/class adviser, Ms. Jessica Pulvera. Man and Woman. It was a jaw-dropping piece! It's something sort of a "debate" about being a man and being a woman. The atmosphere was totally full of suspense and defenses. Here's the poem:

Man and Woman by Victor Hugo

Man is the most elevated of creatures, Woman the most sublime of ideals.
God made for man a throne; for woman an altar.
The throne exalts, the altar sanctifies.
Man is the brain, Woman, the heart.
The brain creates light, the heart, Love. Light engenders, Love resurrects.
Because of reason Man is strong, because of tears Woman is invincible.
Reason is convincing, tears moving.
Man is capable of all heroism, Woman of all martyrdom.
Heroism ennobles, martyrdom sublimates.
Man has supremacy, Woman, preference.
Supremacy is strength, preference is the right.
Man is a genius, Woman, an angel.
Genius is immeasurable, the angel undefinable.
The aspiration of man is supreme glory,
The aspiration of woman is extreme virtue.
Glory creates all that is great; virtue, all that is divine.
Man is a code, Woman a gospel.
A code corrects, the gospel perfects.
Man thinks, Woman dreams.
To think is to have a worm in the brain,
to dream is to have a halo on the brow.
Man is an ocean, Woman a lake.
The ocean has the adorning pearl, the lake, dazzling poetry.
Man is the flying eagle, Woman, the singing nightingale.
To fly is to conquer space. To sing is to conquer the Soul.
Man is a temple, Woman a shrine.
Before the temple we discover ourselves, before the shrine we kneel.
In short, man is found where earth finishes, woman where heaven begins.

It was one of the best poems recited during the Ars Poetica. Other than Man and Woman, I also adore the poem recited by our student council president, which is a famous Francesco Petrarch poem: Love's Inconsistency.

Love's Inconsistency by Francesco Petrarch

I find no peace, and all my war is done
I fear and hope, I burn and freeze likewise
I fly above the wind, yet cannot rise
And nought I have, yet all the world I seize on
That looseth, nor locketh, holdeth me in prison
And holds me not, yet can I 'scape no wise
Nor lets me live, nor die, at my devise
And yet of death it giveth none occasion
Without eyes I see, and without tongue I plain
I wish to perish, yet I ask for health
I love another, and yet I hate myself
I feed in sorrow, and laugh in all my pain
Lo, thus displeaseth me both death and life
And my delight is causer of my grief

The other poem I also liked was recited by a fellow senior who was also the president of the another class. She recited a truly magnificent Maya Angelou poem: Phenomenal Woman.

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

There was another poem, but interpreted in our dialect (Cebuano). According to the introductory statement of the poem, it was written by a Cebuano poet whose works are known in other countries and his Cebuano poems were also published locally. I forgot the name; all I remember is that he is a CIC graduate and a father of a current student in school. The poem is about a teacher who is somehow a bit crazy. And it was totally hilarious! Most especially the last line! :))))

My apologies for not showing any pictures during the event since the pictures are considered "school property" and must not be used, especially online, freely. I hope my experience and the poems I included in this blog entry will somehow satisfy you, as of now. :)