Hark, ye mortals, bound by flesh and bone!
Lend thine ear to journeys starkly shown!
Not life’s bright spark, but ashes, cold and grey,
Seek stages strange at closing of life’s play.
When breath grows still and earthly bonds unbind,
Some souls crave not the plot, the churchyard kind,
But scatter wide upon the whispering gale,
To join the chorus of a stranger tale!
Forsooth! Forget the urn, the marble plinth!
This is the isles where spirits show no stint
Of daring! Where volcanoes fiercely roar,
And fiesta drums beat evermore!
Where coral gardens in blue deeps reside,
And jeepneys paint the streets in gaudy pride.
Prepare thyself for wonders, bold and odd,
As restless dust defies the common sod.
We chart the course, through sacred peak and throng,
Revealing The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines –
A testament to love both fierce and free,
And Pinoy flair for all eternity!
ACT I: The Fury & The Sacred – Where Gods and Embers Meet
- Scene I: The Dragon’s Smoking Heart (Mayon Volcano’s Perfect Cone)
- (Setting: Near-perfect symmetry of Mayon pierces the sky. Steam vents hiss. Death perches on black lava rock, gazing upwards.)
- Death: “Behold! Albay’s fierce jewel, a sight profound! A slumbering dragon on hallowed ground. Its slopes allure, its fury known too well, Yet calls it souls with an unearthly spell. Is it devotion? Challenge? Pure desire? To mingle dust with elemental fire? The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines finds its start, Within the shadow of this fiery heart! On guided treks, or stealthy, moonlit climb, A silent prayer escapes the bounds of time. A cast towards the crater’s sulphurous breath, Embracing risk, defying common death. But tremble, mortals! Mayon’s wrath is swift; Disrupt its sleep, and hope may quickly drift. PHIVOLCS watches with a wary eye; This sacred pyre ‘neath the Bicol sky Demands respect, lest tribute turn to plight, And ash becomes but ash within the night.”
- The Wanderer (Echoing on the wind): “Let me ascend where lava once did flow! Become the dust on which new glories grow! Not buried deep, but riding Mayon’s plume, A restless spirit, free beyond the tomb!”
- Scene II: The Fiery Lake’s Embrace (Taal Volcano’s Crater Lake)
- (Setting: The jade-green waters of Taal’s crater lake shimmer. Volcanic Island smolders. Death skims a stone across the placid surface.)
- Death: “From Bicol’s giant to this caldera’s eye! A lake of fire ‘neath a tranquil sky? Taal’s paradox! A beauty fierce and deep, Where restless earth refuses gentle sleep. Upon a banca, oarsmen dip and pull, Towards the isle where sulph’rous vapours lull… Or warn? Yet some, with hearts both bold and true, Seek here a rest with panoramic view. The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines records this scene: A scatter on the waters, calm, serene… Or near the vents where heat the senses tests, Where ash meets ash on Taal’s volcanic breasts. A final voyage on this mystic mere, Where earth’s hot pulse dispels the mortal fear. Yet heed the tremors, heed the rising steam! This liquid grave fulfills a potent dream, But beauty masks the dragon sleeping low; Respect the power before you let ashes go.”
- The Mourner (Whispering on the boat): “Mother, you loved this lake, its strange allure, Its peace, its power, primal and pure. Rest now within its ever-changing face, Part of Taal’s timeless, elemental grace.”
ACT II: The Fiesta Never Ends – Stages of Eternal Revelry
- Scene I: Dancing Dust Amidst the Sinulog Throng (Cebu City Streets)
- (Setting: Explosion of colour, sound, movement. Drums pound, dancers whirl in devotion to Santo Niño. Death observes from a balcony draped in banners.)
- Death: “From fire and water to the human roar! Where faith and frenzy shake the very floor! Behold Sinulog! Cebu’s heart ablaze, A million voices chanting hymns of praise! Pit Señor! Viva! Through the teeming street, A river of devotion, fierce and sweet. And in this maelstrom, where the faithful press, Some seek a final, vibrant blessedness. The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines reveals this quest: To join the dance, eternally possessed! A furtive shake amidst the swirling crowd, As drums crescendo, fervent, fierce, and loud. Grandparent’s dust upon the parade route, Mingling with glitter, sweat, and joyous shout. ‘She loved the Santo Niño, loved the beat, Now she is the rhythm in the street!’ A shocking blend of sacred and profane? Or purest love amidst the fiesta’s reign? The city sweeps the remnants clean at dawn, But in the spirit of the dance, they’re drawn Forevermore.”
- The Wanderer (A whisper beneath the drums): “Let me be swept where faith and footsteps blend! Let my dust rise with every joyful end! Pit Señor! Viva! In the vibrant stream, An echo in the collective Sinulog dream!”
- Scene II: The Eternal Smile (Bacolod’s MassKara Festival Parade Float)
- (Setting: Gigantic, grotesque, smiling masks bob on elaborate floats. Confetti rains. Music blares. Death wears a tiny, skeletal mask.)
- Death: “From Cebu’s fervour to Negros’ bright display! Where smiles are mandated, chasing gloom away! MassKara! Festival of resilience born, Where grinning masks greet each triumphant morn. And on these floats, bedecked in flowers grand, Some seek a final, whimsical command. The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines takes a turn, Where joy eternal is the sole concern! A pinch of dust, amidst the papier-mâché, Or in the gears that make the float sashay. ‘He crafted masks,’ the grieving kin explain, ‘Let him ride high amidst the bright campaign! His laughter lives within each painted grin, His spirit dances as the floats begin.’ A final fiesta, bright and debonair, A smile cast upon the Bacolod air. Though swept away with streamers at the end, In MassKara’s spirit, they transcend.”
- The Mourner (Adjusting a giant mask): “Lolo, your hands shaped joy for all to see, Now ride forever, wild and fancy-free! Your dust becomes the glitter in the light, Your smile eternal, burning ever bright!”
ACT III: The Urban Labyrinth – Where Dust Meets Diesel and Dreams
- Scene I: Riding Forever (Inside a Beloved Jeepney)
- (Setting: The cramped, vibrant interior of a vintage jeepney. Stained glass, chrome, loud music. Death squeezes onto a bench.)
- Death: “From fiesta’s peak to Manila’s churning street! Where diesel fumes and vibrant cultures meet! The mighty jeepney! Artwork on the roll, The nation’s pulse, the people’s mobile soul! For drivers proud, whose lives were spent behind The wheel, through traffic, leaving cares behind… Why rest in earth, when one can ride for good? The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines understood! Beneath the driver’s seat, a sacred nook, Or in the engine bay, a final look! A sprinkle near the dangling rosary bright, Or on the floor, trod daily in the light. ‘He lived his route,’ the family softly cry, ‘Now let him journey ‘neath the city sky! Forever moving, part of every fare, His presence felt in congested evening air.’ Passengers shift, unknowing, on the seat, While driver’s dust joins Manila’s frantic beat. A mobile monument to toil and art, The jeepney holds a loved one close to heart.”
- The Wanderer (A rattle from the engine): “Let pistons pound my final, rhythmic song! Through EDSA’s length, where I did once belong! My dust adheres to chrome and painted saint, A spectral passenger without complaint!”
- Scene II: The Call Center’s Night Shift (Graveyard Shift Workstation)
- (Setting: Fluorescent-lit office floor. Rows of headsets, glowing monitors. Murmured accents: American, British, Australian. Death leans over a vacant cubicle.)
- Death: “Now turn we to the temples of the night! Where voices weave in artificial light. The BPO realm! Where graveyard shifts hold sway, And dreams of distant shores light up the day… Or night. For some, this world, demanding, vast, Became their life, their anchor, held them fast. A young soul lost to stress, or far from home, Found solace in this globally linked dome. The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines notes this plea: ‘Let her stay near her team, her work, her glee (When metrics hit!).’ A tearful colleague’s hand, Disperses dust across the keyboard’s land. Or near the coffee station, where they’d share Exhausted laughs and burdens hard to bear. ‘She gave her nights,’ they whisper, choked and low, ‘Let her remain where virtual breezes blow.’ A spectral presence on the midnight call, A sigh within the air-conditioned hall. Unseen by customers across the sea, Yet felt by those who shared her legacy. A modern crypt, beneath the flickering screen, Where global voices mask the silent scene.”
- The Mourner (Placing a photo by a monitor): “Ate, your voice calmed customers far away, Now rest here where we laboured night and day. Your dust may settle on this ergonomic chair, Your spirit lingers in the midnight air.”
ACT IV: The Siren’s Depths – Embraced by the Abyss
- Scene I: Guardian of the Wreck (Coron’s Sunken Fleet)
- (Setting: Azure waters above the WWII Japanese wrecks of Coron. Sunlight shafts through hulls encrusted with coral. Fish swarm. Death floats, translucent.)
- Death: “From city’s din to Visayan waters deep! Where history sleeps and silent sentinels keep. Coron’s blue realm! A diver’s paradise, Where shattered warships offer strange device. For those who breathed compressed air, loved the blue, The weightless world, the panorama view… What better crypt than this majestic grave? The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines finds the brave! Descending deep, with weighted urn in hand, To place a loved one near the sunken sand. Inside the hull of Irako, vast and dark, Or by Okikawa’s structure, stark. ‘He lived to dive these wrecks,’ the buddy sighs, ‘Now let him guard them ‘neath these tropic skies… Or waters deep. Forever part the scene, Where angelfish dance and coral grows serene.’ A solemn ritual ‘midst the silent steel, Where bubbles rise like spirits they can feel. A final plunge, a tribute to the sea, Embracing darkness for eternity. Respect the war grave, handle with due care, For ashes join the fallen resting there.”
- The Wanderer (A glint near the propeller): “Let currents weave my dust through rusted steel! Where grouper glide and sunlight casts its seal! Become the phosphorescence in the night, A guardian ghost in Coron’s liquid light.”
- Scene II: The Tubbataha Reef’s Silent Cathedral (Heart of the Sulu Sea)
- (Setting: Pristine coral gardens bursting with life. Sharks patrol. Turtles glide. The open ocean surrounds. Death observes a cleaning station.)
- Death: “Beyond the wrecks, where open ocean swells, A living Eden, where pure beauty dwells! Tubbataha! UNESCO’s treasured gem, A realm untouched, a diadem! For marine biologists, conservation’s heart, Whose life’s work played a crucial, vital part… Or simply souls who felt the ocean’s call, Its vastness, wonder, comprehending all. The Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines sails this far, To reefs untouched ‘neath sun or guiding star. From liveaboard decks, with reverence profound, Ashes released where only waves resound. Or near the drop-off, where the blue turns black, A final journey, no returning track. ‘Her life was spent protecting this blue grace, Now let her merge with this beloved place.’ Become the plankton, feed the coral’s might, Join manta rays in effortless flight. Dissolve within the Sulu’s vast embrace, Leaving no trace but love within this space. The purest form of elemental rest, Where spirit joins the ocean’s boundless quest.”
- The Mourner (Watching ashes swirl away): “Nanay, your passion was this turquoise sea, Its fragile life, its wild diversity. Now flow forever with the ocean’s tide, Your essence spread where wondrous creatures glide.”
Epilogue: Whispers on the Monsoon Wind (Spoken by Death)
So ends our voyage, strange and bittersweet,
Where mortal dust finds rest in tropic heat,
On volcano’s slope, ‘midst fiesta’s sound,
In jeepney’s heart, on call center ground,
‘Neath ocean waves where sunken giants lie,
Or ‘neath the reef where living corals sigh.
This Ashes’ Odyssey: A Mortal’s Guide to The Weirdest Places Ashes Have Been Scattered in The Philippines shows,
Not grief alone, but how devotion flows
In channels deep, reflecting life’s own art –
Defiant, faithful, whimsical of heart.
Is it sacrilege? Or love profound and true?
A final act where spirit shines anew?
Judge not, ye mortals, wrapped in life’s warm breath,
The paths we choose at our appointment with death.
For who can say what secret, fervent plea
Might guide thy dust to join this company?
The ashes merge with fire, sea, or street,
But human hearts, in victory or defeat,
Seek monuments in life’s familiar hum,
Not distant stars, but where their pulse was drummed:
In jeepney’s roar, Sinulog’s sacred beat,
The coral’s sigh, the volcano’s heat.
Remember, as ye tread the bustling scene,
The stories whispered where those ashes gleam:
Tales not of endings, but of love’s command,
Seeking forever in this vibrant land.
The curtain falls. Reflect on paths untrod,
The final journey… blessed by Filipinos’ God.
Paalam!