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Kareen Gancio Poems and Prose Collection

This document contains two poems and a short prose by Mary Kareen Gancio. The first poem, "Oh Dear Sunset" expresses the author's feelings while on a delayed flight from Manila to Iloilo as she watches the sunset, hoping to get home safely. The second poem is untitled. The short prose "Empty Cup" discusses the importance of having an open and humble mindset to learn from mistakes and opportunities, even those we dislike, in order to grow. It cautions against pride that prevents improvement and encourages embracing discomfort to progress.

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67 views2 pages

Kareen Gancio Poems and Prose Collection

This document contains two poems and a short prose by Mary Kareen Gancio. The first poem, "Oh Dear Sunset" expresses the author's feelings while on a delayed flight from Manila to Iloilo as she watches the sunset, hoping to get home safely. The second poem is untitled. The short prose "Empty Cup" discusses the importance of having an open and humble mindset to learn from mistakes and opportunities, even those we dislike, in order to grow. It cautions against pride that prevents improvement and encourages embracing discomfort to progress.

Uploaded by

Kareen Gancio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MARY KAREEN GANCIO Poems and Prose Collection

Oh Dear Sunset

Description: written while I was on the plane from Manila to Iloilo, December 22, 2012. I was
seated at 4F on that flight. it's a by the window seat. i can see the sunset as we depart manila.
the flight was more than 30 minutes delayed but i did not feel bothered. i was praying I could get
home safe. that's all i was thinking about.

Oh Dear Sunset,

Let your rays touch my cheek


That my frozen soul may melt

Let your glow blind me for a moment


That I may see what i always ignore

Let your horizon pierce through my heart


That the pain may make me feel alive

Let your dying brightness burn me to ashes


That tomorrow, when you rise, I may rise again with you.

EMPTY CUP

Grab every opportunity to learn and grow, even if this opportunity comes from a situation you truly
despise.

With what do you begin? Definitely, you begin NOT with pride but rather with an empty cup. I have
once told myself, "Be humble. Never stop learning. If you think you've learned it all - RELEARN!"
Apparently, this is easier said than done. The comfort offered by the idea that you know everything you
need to know is very tempting. It makes you look confident. It makes you feel competent. But just like
any temptation, it keeps you from realizing what really counts. It is NOT to simply LOOK
CONFIDENT, or FEEL COMPETENT. These are all superficial. They make a fragile shell that keeps
emptiness from sight. What counts is to be in the state of being comfortable with committing mistakes
and learning from them -- for this is the only way you will grow. You begin with crushing down the
shell that keeps you from improving -- Pride.

Although not everyone feels uncomfortable making mistakes, most people (if not all) finds discomfort
in being corrected. For a few who finds it very essential that perfection be achieved the first time, such
discomfort is magnified. For these people, every wrong move is a stab at the heart that is already barely
MARY KAREEN GANCIO Poems and Prose Collection

beating. For the fear of being wrong, often, they face a very difficult task - to begin. A writer may fear a
blank sheet of paper, not always because he has nothing to write; but because he fears that what gets to
be written is not as brilliant as when it was just a thought. However, the writers who succeed are those
who insist on making that first stroke on that blank sheet. They may not like what comes out of it, but
they continue until they figure out what is needed for their manuscript to be completed. These are the
writers whose works get to be read. They are the ones who recognize that growth is achieved only by
those who embrace the discomfort in being wrong and corrected, as a temporary but necessary phase of
the learning process.

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