In the Marian month of October
Magnificent madness
My savage spirit you stunned
Bones leap out to dance
Something inside
You touched and exploded
Unleashing the torrent of one hundred springs
That rush to embrace
The vineyards lost in my memory
O blessed be
Walls you have broken down
Oppressors you pinned to the ground
Now you pick
This shrub you found
So fragile among the ruins
And marvel at its lowliness
O blessed be
“I will lure her once more into the desert
Where I can speak to her tenderly
Then I will give back her vineyards
Make the Valley of Achor a door of hope
There she will answer me as in her youth” *
Magnificent madness
Unbecoming indeed
Divine extravagance
Recklessness unprecedented
Grace
Without adjectives
Love without end
Without protest
O blessed be
*Hosea 2:16-17 paraphrased
Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Ma. Ceres P. Doyo has been a journalist for more than 40 years. Her written works have won numerous awards, among them, two National Book Awards for Journalism (2015 and 2022). She writes a weekly column, the “Human Face,” for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
