When Never Is Essential Poem by Nenia Arnaiz Dulom

It is NEVER a NO when you want is a YES,
You will only experience constriction in your chest,
You will feel like choking yourself to death.

Never say GOODBYE when you want is HELLO,
When farewell feels good but welcome is so great,
When leaving seems certain but not preferred.

Never GIVE UP neither GIVE IN,
When you know you can still try and go on,
When you feel neither quitting nor resigning is not a solution.

Never SAY you don't love that person,
When you can't seem to stop thinking,
When daydreaming is best when you see him there standing.

Or never SAY something that you will regret later,
It’s better to restrain yourself than to lose your temper,
When something you would say will fire up a quarrel.

Never STARE at someone you don’t recognize the face,
If you don’t want to be questioned,
If you don’t want to encounter an equal disrespect.

Never LAUGH when you see a disabled,
Neither a nerd nor a visually weird,
It is not something to express your amusement.

Never RELY on someone,
Who is flippant, fickle minded, and erratic;
Who fiddles with his finger on every single object.

Never say NEVER if you mean by all means,
You know you cannot predict whatever is next,
You cannot even guess what is on the mind of your guest.

Never LIE on something even if it is just a bit,
It’s better to bite your tongue when temptation attempts,
We know there’s no trivial or casual fib,
Lie is untruth and always falls as false.

Never SWEAR on something you aren’t confident,
A YES or a NO reply is actually sufficient,
To convey what you mean or to make a full statement.

Oh yes, there are many more NEVER to quote,
More than a thousand and one to point out with cause,
Sadly this page is not enough for me to note.

(August 15,2011 Philippines)