In Apology To ‘em Poem by Jordan Legaspi

…The divine-man

I proclaim what I don’t believe

Different religion, different creed:
- the god of many names and of many “images”
Different institution, different advocation:
- the theories of “origin”:
of space and time, of man and divine
of heaven and earth, of birth and death

I don’t say what I don’t mean, and I don’t mean what I say

Different ideology, different campaign:
- the political system that both crippled and “freed” the society
of barbaric and hostile “tribal” mentality
of “uncivilized” and “ignorant” cruel-life style

Different peoples of different contributions
- the ancient tradition and their taboo
- the poets and the beauty of their words
- the philosophers and their complex idea
- the scientists-inventors and their modernity
- the simple and ordinary souls and their “life-style”

I know that I don’t know
The difference between:
“good and bad”
“right and wrong”
“health and sickness”
“angels and demons”
“the etc and the so on and so forth”
relative as it is:
the language that entwined to the unspoken;
the culture that contoured to what is hidden;

…the divine

Some called “you”, the highest intelligence
Few addressed “you”, the prime mover; the first and uncaused cause
Others proclaimed “you”, through nature- the cosmic spirit
Many acclaimed “you”, God- the name known to many


Different religions, different churches
- the doctrine and dogma,
- traditions and practices

Different creeds, different belief system(s)
Different spiritualities and disciplines
- the theologies and the teachings
- the theories and the praxis’

…the man

I was and I am- the same “me’ but not at all:
- the “phenomenon of man” between space and time
- the “ mystery of origin” between faith and doubt
- the “reality of man” between love and hate
- the “journey of man” between birth and death”
- the human tendency between hope and despair- emotion
- the human potentiality between intelligence and ignorance- reason

I am, and the what I will become:
The name
…tradition of holy and divine
…the battle between “the self and the other self”
The title
…mentality of status and influence
…the competition between “maturity and success”
The address
…culture of respect and authority
…the struggle between the “face and mask”

…the question

What is this all about?
Who is this all about?
Why is this- the all about?
Where is this- the all about?
When is this- the all about?
How is this- the all about?

…penned remarks

The divine-man
is nothing but the “me” who lives and dies
in the ‘reality of “my” faith- the demand of holiness and uprightness
in the context of my religion proclaimed in my creed
- the acceptance and the respect of “my” uniqueness and differences
- the diversity of “my' self and the other self of the same image and likeness of a (man)

The divine
is nothing but the mystery beyond “my” comprehension
- the reality that cannot be bound only and in one religion
- the many splendid manifestation
- the both known and the unknown “entity” to “me”

The man
is the cause:
of love and hate
of faith and doubt
of hope and despair
of peace and conflict
of truth and falsehood
of “everything”
- Material being
- Anima (spiritual) being
- Natural (from/part of nature) being.