The New Year Tableau
New Year in Manila
In the Philippines, common scenes during and after the celebration of the breaking of the year are either cheerful sights or gruesome mishaps. Pictures of the latter, although statistically insignificant in number compared to the former, can be totally avoided, but some never learn from previous incidents until they become part of the statistics that TV networks and tabloids overemphasize on their next day’s edition.
I wrote the following haikus to describe my observations on some of the most common scenes before, during and after the celebration.
The beauty and hope the celebration brings:
indeed the rain stopped
gave way to circus of lights
to the crowd’s delight
day after fireworks
like any day of the year
a chance to do well
Some time before, during, and some time after the breaking of the year …
blind bullets flying
smell of shattered flesh in air
dumb brains intact still
the spirit of fun
is not complete without death
fireworks, stray bullet
first day of the year
say goodbye to the old, dear
and your digits, too
Fireworks Display at Taipei 101
I wrote the following haikus to describe my observations on some of the most common scenes before, during and after the celebration.
The beauty and hope the celebration brings:
indeed the rain stopped
gave way to circus of lights
to the crowd’s delight
day after fireworks
like any day of the year
a chance to do well
Some time before, during, and some time after the breaking of the year …
blind bullets flying
smell of shattered flesh in air
dumb brains intact still
the spirit of fun
is not complete without death
fireworks, stray bullet
first day of the year
say goodbye to the old, dear
and your digits, too
Fireworks Display at Taipei 101
I was among the crowd of thousands on the wet streets of Taipei who waited for and later witnessed the now traditional grand display of fireworks from Taipei 101 to welcome the New Year. The display, though short, was awesome and really a sight to behold when you’re there watching for almost 5 minutes. Our eyes feasted on the illusion of a skyscraper in choreographed explosion - the ballet of spectacular colors either circled or radiated from every storey of the building. I guess every pair of eyes and digital cameras in the vicinity had been glued to the wonderful sight of lights even after the show ended. Taipei 101 with its emerald bamboo-like silhouette stood there majestically, dwarfing every other tower in the area. I didn’t hear any residual sound of firework exploding before, during and after the show.
It was a good thing that the rain stopped 6 hours before the fireworks. It had rained continuously for four days.
It was a good thing that the rain stopped 6 hours before the fireworks. It had rained continuously for four days.
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