OUR LADY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Trappist Abbey
When
the moon climbs the cloudless sky and stillness pours into valleys
pooling waters of silence, I rise from sleep to dress, shuffling off
loose dreams like a sack.
Stepping
outside, I inhale brisk air like snuff—suddenly, I am wakeful, a
clock about to spring. I toss out bags of sand to rise more quickly.
In the early chill the mountains stand as guardian shadows and night gleams like dragonfly wings.
I
am eager for the work of God beckoning at the end of a solitary path
just beyond a row of trees bristling at wind snapping like a flag.
Bits
of gravel bite at my soles as turning the corner, I lift up my heart at
the sight of light spilling gently from the entrance to the church.
Stepping
inside, I am greeted by the bright echo of kneelers knocking the stone
floor, and softly rustling pages of stapled paper hymnals.
Gradually, ethereal plainchant rises like a river, gathers itself, solidly transforming into one long sonorous brilliant golden bell.
Gradually, ethereal plainchant rises like a river, gathers itself, solidly transforming into one long sonorous brilliant golden bell.
%202.jpg) |
| Virgen Maria (2007), detail by Ramon Orlina |
HERMITS OF BETHLEHEM
Chester, New
Jersey
Beyond
the threshold is silence.
Stillness
suffuses like light.
The
world outside is spinning.
Summer
flames at its height.
Solitude
is a boon companion.
Self-knowledge
climbs like a sloth.
The
bed is spare, a thin beard.
The
rocking chair is a moth.
Dig
in a cave in darkness.
Toss
out handfuls of soil.
Bake
bread in your heart, an oven.
Bring
steaming thirst to a boil.
Listen
for the least word of power.
Pierce
yourself with a sword.
Afternoon
deepens day shadows.
The
sun is a violent lord.
Dusk
emanates blood-red rays.
All
trials in an instant will pass.
Gaze
upon woods colored jade.
Dream
dreams of emerald grass.
.jpg) |
| Into Green Pastures (2020) by Ramon Orlina |
Credits - original publications:
ReplyDelete“Our Lady of the Philippines,” Magis: Official Publication of the Magis Deo Community (July 2014), page 15
“Hermits of Bethlehem,” The Penmen Review (July 29, 2015)
Gonzalinho
Ramon G. Orlina is a brilliant modern-postmodern artist from the Philippines who demonstrates technical mastery of the expressive possibilities of sculpted glass.
ReplyDeletePhotos are of pieces housed at Museo Orlina, Tagaytay City, Philippines.
Gonzalinho
Virgen Maria (2007)
ReplyDeleteCarved green glass
28 x 24 x 13 cm
“A serene visage of the Blessed Mother, ‘Virgen Maria’ has the direct, eye-level gaze that inspires pure stillness but seems to follow the viewer as he or she moves to the right or left. No tension mars its surface or volume, which Orlina leaves unmodulated by frills or ornamentation. The sculpture’s naturalistic treatment is itself a gesture of reverence for the subject.”
—Museo Orlina, Tagaytay City, Philippines
Gonzalinho
Into Green Pastures (2020)
ReplyDeleteCarved moss green glass
47 x 35 x 30 cm
Into Green Pastures (2020) is a freestanding asymmetrical emerald glass sculpture ingeniously whorled, angled, and planed, the effect of which is a medley of light modulated by viridescent shadows. Orlina’s abstract fancy harbors multiple possible meanings.
Gonzalinho