I want to be there
    when the sun shines brightly every morning
    when you slowly open your sparkly eyes
    when you yawn and gather your pillows in your arms
    when you reach out and ask for dear mom and dad
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you want company to play in the park
    when you feel like gathering the flowers in bloom
    when you feel like feeding the fish in the tank
    when you just want to sit and watch the planes fly by
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you want your breakfast, cereal or bread
    when you take your vitamins in many fruit flavors
    when you get ready for the morning shower
    when you don’t even want to stop playing
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you brush your little teeth, morning and night
    when you play with the flowing water in the shower
    when you hesitate to get out too soon from the bathroom
    when you want your favorite clothes, day-in, day-out
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you want to play your Barbie DVD all day long
    when you scatter your toys, books and DVDs all over
    when you jump in bed or hide under the bed cover
    when you sing along Snow White or Barbie character
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you eat your lunch in the bedroom or high chair
    when you select the food you eat and say “No” to the rest
    when you munch for morsels and spit them out in my palm
    when you drink your water or ask for Coke when you see it
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you’re eyes get droppy and misty in the afternoons
    when you struggle to be awake and avoid the needed naps
    when you roll from side to side and find your comfort
    when you finally doze off to a wondrous dreamy slumber
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you wake up from sleep and come marching for snacks
    when you choose for a chocolate drink, a Yakult or yogurt
    when you ask for your milk, and want it freshly made
    when you want to play even more with darkness forthcoming
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you eat dinner, delicious fried chicken or fish extra crisp
    when you want your rice, hot and steamy or flavored best
    when you love and savor mom’s scrumptious pumpkin soup
    when you wish you always have chocolate or ice cream or cake
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you insist to pull me along and lead to our bedroom
    when you ask for your pacifier and soft pillows to boot
    when you watch time and again the lovely Barbie films
    when you wait for dear sleep to come with a bottle of milk
    I just want to be there, always.

I want to be there
    when you grow up and be the best daughter you can be
    when you love and take care of your brother, I know you do
    when you make your mom and dad proud, today and always
    when you reach your dreams and live a happy life ahead
    I would live the happiest to be there.

This is my baby boy – Dean Matthieu.  He is quite adorable at age 7 months old.

The life she brings

The care she gives

The lessons learned

Through life indeed.

You stumble once

And twice you fall

She’ll pick you up

And hugs you most

Hesitant to let you go.

The comforts of home

Dispel the stormiest days

The aroma of comfort meals

Shared in love and togetherness.

She’s always the Lady

You first saw and fell in love

And she’ll be the ladylove

That no one can replace.

As we grow older

Other women will touch our lives

Some in more meaningful ways

Others, unremarkable.

As we lived on

And be our independents selves

Not wanting the care and love

That our mama once bring.

But she remains steadfast

Waiting for us, always there

Being the very best

Unconditional loving mother.

Dennis P Maitim

August 4, 2009

In remembrance of President Cory Aquino’s heroic deeds for the Philippines

Market Day

A lovely Saturday morning, just as usual

A welcome respite from busy days of work

A little lazy to wake up for a hearty cereal

A measly reward for a hungry mouths bloke

The ordinary day begins as I march my way

The downtown marketplace some miles away

The multitude of vehicles that ply the route

The procession so agonizingly slow and brute

A crowded place of people, a good mix of caste

A throng of dicers and carters in a hurried haste

A deligent merchant for fresh fruits and veggies

A sharp butcher’s knife carving some beef cubies

The catch of the day came in iced coolers a plenty

The stench in the air, a welcome perfume to all

The chorus of happy traders persuading you to buy

The haggling for bargain prices, a buyer’s delight

A section designate for the wet and dry merchandise

A cacophony of sounds and rainbow colors alike

A labyrinth of slippery passageways to here and fro

A dance distinctly human, shopper’s skill and balance

The market’s energy is always a zenith high

The elated moods to bargain and trade for many

The livid colors of goods and characters alike

The sight to behold like a treasure trove of mem’ries.

                                                                                                                Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 10, 2008

Emotions

The sleepy one

Denuded with energy

It wishes one thing

Be made to rest and tire away

The grumpy one

Doesn’t care at all

Its snide remarks

Will hit like a lighting bolt

The happy one

Smiles and sings a happy tune

Infectious at times

It lightens the afternoon

The pensive one

Immersed in a deep thought

With life hanging in a balance

Don’t know which way to turn

The carefree one

Is loud and lonely

It swings proudly with the wind

And drifted aimlessly

The lover one

Is deligent and hopeful

The glisten in its eye

Can blind a thousand eagles

The profound one

Discerns what’s life’s meaning

Yearns for an eternal being

As it journeys life intently.

                                                                                    Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 10, 2008

Life as I know It

A cat with a fiddle

It can’t be true

I know a creature more loved by you

A cat may cry, she meows my way

With Its collar made from cowhide

Swings in her neck of furry grays and white

The cat will wander into my yard

She loves to sit in the entranceway

As no creature gets in her prima donna way

In the quiet of evenings

I may hear her sobbing-like cry

Maybe it’s a mating call, I will never know why

At times when a vicious dog

Gets out from a neighbor’s gate

The cat will hide inside my cape

A cat with a fiddle

It can’t be true

I know a creature more loved by you

                                                                                                                Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 10, 2008

Rejuvenate

Sunrise in late summer is always a pleasure

It comes a little later and starting to be cool

The east will glow in crimsom yellow

With wisps of clouds radiating the brightness

To announce the new beginning

The birds will sing a thousand times

Today, tomorrow I do remember

Some gathered for breakfasts, some stretched their wings

Perched on the lone stately palm tree

In the yard of ebbing morning dews

The blue grass are growing denser

A sight to behold in early morning

With my barefoot, I have trodden

It feels like a luscious carpet of the Turks

Only it is green all over

The patch is compact but full

With pockets of morning star and golden box

Arrange in the ethereal beauty of symmetry

Plants in topiary forms of mounds and spikes

Creates a dreamlike paradise

Denrobiums abloom in various colors and hues

Gives a hint of eden amid metal bars

A gated garden ensures to protect the flora

With a growing apple mango tree surely creeping

And dominate the shade underneath its being

It feels like home, it invites you to stare

If only for a moment, you’ll be caught in a spell

Green grasses, sturdy plants and trees a growing

A real oasis, thriving with life – a garden enchanting

A sight to behold and truly rejuvenating!

                                                                                                                Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 10, 2008

She Winks at Me

The joys of life

A thousand ways in between

To each its own

Makes heaven a place within

A man takes a woman

Clings to a union as sacred as time

Promises to cherish

The love, the truth and the passion

Their feelings undivided

Through gladness it’s shared abundantly

In due time, life begins again

A miracle that God has blessed unfailingly

Anticipation grows

The songs of lark are singing

The rounded belly

Proud cradle to the bundle of joy

A day would not pass

Without a new experience

It’s always a telling

The sweetness of young parenting

It dawns on you

How great a responsibility it is

A living being

Totally dependent on you

Would I measure up?

The man will feel at times

Anxiety sets in

Renewed fears magnified

It is today, she will arrive

Mixed emotions you can hardly contain

You hear her cry

And you cannot help but smile

To hold her tight

To kiss her good night

All doubts are cast aside

The minute she winks at me.

                                                                                                                Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 10, 2008

Drive

Streets are narrow and poorly lit

Potholes and cracks all over the place

Sewer and garbage are scattered around

So much for cleanliness in this side of town

If not a house, an ambulant vendor squat the sides

They’ve snatched the streets from proper use

With children playing ball and old women gossiping

It’s hard to tell – where’s the pedestrian’s crossing

It would have been fine when everyone

Respects the law and follow the traffic signs

But not in Manila, don’t be a fool

It’s anyone’s guess how you can drive it cool

Perplexing to mind how one gets to move around

Streets littered with vehicles in monstrous number

Busy people that are on there way in hasty paces

Order is the least on everyone’s consciousness

The gridlock fault, it stems from lack of urban planning

Shortsightedness and too much politicking

Rapid population migration compounded the problem

One has to live with it to eternal flame

                                                                   Dennis P. Maitim

                                                                                                                June 11, 2008

About Dreams

If dreams are made to make us wonder

To inspire us to strive even harder

And make us resolute to continue further

Then it’s okey to dream always to forever.

If babies could dream dreams with less care

And imagine things only momma had bare

To smile uninhibited in sleep while your stare

Must be good visions and pictures everywhere

Dreams do happen in really deep slumber

Others more vivid and can go in numbers

While some are sketchy you hardly remember

Fruits of a fertile mind, the subconscious seer

Some people dream while awake in ponder

Seeing their lives unreeling and in great stir

A collage of the past, incoherently bare

And see new things unimaginable sans surrender

Dreams may provide an epiphany as you get older

A realization that there is indeed a great order

A new purpose in life as you head yourself clear

Build a new you and make a proud believer

Dreams get you the déjà vu feeling louder

As dreams reflect on your experiences here

Make things familiar and sort ideas better

And realize life has made you a lot wiser

Dreams do make us a lot cheerful and happier

Hopeful of the future, a destination we care

Wishing the journey will be great and not bumpier

And shared with our love ones forever and ever

                                                                   Dennis P Maitim

                                                                                                                July 4, 2008