What beauty, charm and all allure exude,
The Pinoy woman's pinched lips do allude,
A baby tightly held, love's wellspring flows.
A playful slap, quick pinch, play swirl delight
That baby girl she holds; pursed lips, eyes bright
Soft powdered skin and feet exposed, joy flows.
For husband, son, and best friend too delight,
Her focus shifts with hugs, pressed lips, new might
Of love displayed unknown, now known, new flows.
One's culture may express or dictate how
Love is to be expressed or given now.
Love is parched lips, an opened side, Blood flows.
- Gary Edward Geraci
My muse is Alfred Lord Tennyson and Vivien's Song written in four stanzas of iambic pentameter, three lines each: aar, bbr, bbr, ccr. The last word in each stanza repeats (r) as does the last word in the first line of the second and third stanzas. I've desired for a while now to write about a quality I discovered in my wife's culture. My wife, a native Filipino (Philippines), and other Filipinas (Filipino women), tend to physically clamp their lips together when publicly expressing affection or love for another; especially for babies. I had never experienced this intensity of love prior to meeting my wife and becoming familiar with her culture. In both my interactions with other Filipinos and my travels to the Philippines, I have witnesssed this expression on numerous occasions. A new way to "feel love" I think; certainly a new dimension of love that I had never witnesses before. Of course, the ultimate expression of love originates from the time our Lord and Savior became man and died on the cross - when we were unloving, full of sin, and ungrateful. There is no higher expression of love than this.
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