THE OTHER HALF OF ME

THE OTHER HALF OF ME

(in memory of Wilfrido D. Nolledo, author of But for the Lovers, E.P. Dutton, New York, 1970)

Beneath this mound of soil

lies the other half of me,

in wait for this self

still walking the ground

trekked together before, but

now dotted with only a pair of footprints.

I lay the roses upon the tombstone

in a ritual of love, and pray:

please God let him who loved

you continue to love you,

and you who loved him in his life

continue to love him evermore.

I sit awhile on the grass

the well of tears  at last

comes unabated, unashamed as,

desolate, I speak to the other half of me,

retrieving images of the past,

the highs and lows of our together life:

the poetry we fed on that filled the soul

as our empty pouches laid concealed in the

richness of our dreams; the hurts we

unknowingly meted out to each other. What are

aches and pains for--that gnaw at layers and layers

of grit--if they cannot unearth the Phoenix in us?

Shared rage against inequity, shared agony

over the cauldrons of war, shared anguish

over injustice, shared dreams and hopes for peace.

Such passion and ecstasy, anger and humor--

all inextricably bound in the mingling

of life’s laughter and tears.

This self must go on through the motions of life

though not quite whole, not quite hale,

for the other half of me is gone.

(How strong she is, people say; if only they knew…)

Tasks must be finished, whatever the heavens drop;

but there is an end to every journey, I, too well know.

Little drops of rain moisten the soil on my other half;

the cold tomb looks up at the endless blue above,

and the earth sucks the tears of the va ulted sky.

I beg the other half of me, be patient, wait for the

Dispenser of Life to fill the tomb’s empty space by your side

and make the we of us complete again.  - Blanca Datuin, 2004

Membership in the Purisima Fellowship

Membership in the PURISIMA FELLOWSHIP

Welcome to this Fellowship. Membership in this Fellowship entitles you the benefits of enjoying a sense of belonging where you can express yourself freely with the knowledge that confidentiality is respected, and that you are valued as a person who matters a lot to your family, to your community, to this world. You are facing forces, a lot of which are trying to pull you down: hip hop culture, video games, television, wrong conceptions of beauty and body images, drugs, alcohol, wrong use of cell phones, bad literature, pornography, texting, sexting, etc.

The good news is that you have a right to fight back, to mature and learn to evolve into the person God wants you to be. In this Fellowship, you will do just that. So, come to this Feast regularly. Remember the schedule: every second Friday of each month. (Calendar it.) This schedule may change sometimes depending upon the availability of room, but God provides. He will let you continue the learning process. Just be sure to answer His call.

OBJECTIVES: 1. to develop the members’ sense of identity, the better to get to know themselves through a process of self-discovery and interpersonal relationships;

2. to increase the participants’ spirituality---knowing God, loving, and serving Him---and grow in virtue and holiness with style, joy and grace;

3. to develop skills in combatting today’s sexual revolution; and

4. to increase faith in God and in themselves to gain strength in staying chaste until getting married within the sacrament of matrimony. Or, if a religious vocation is discerned, a choice of staying celibate is made.

5. beyond the six-month sessions, to be trained to become instruments in spreading to others their learned skills, thus, becoming mentors themselves.

This six-month training culminates with a chastity ring ceremony with a mass to be solemnized in church. 

Below is your personal contract that you need to sign as

reminder to yourself of your commitment. 

A duplicate will be kept on file in the

 archive of Purisima.  (Illustration shown in hard copy)