About the Photo: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The photo first and foremost is an official entry for a Halloween contest at the office. The theme is anything that involves a pumpkin. I've posted more details about the photo shoot over here. Second, about the poem, they wanted a write-up that describes the photo, so what I did was veer away from conventional journalism and went ahead and made a poem about it. I had no idea that the concept would be such a hit, everyone loved it!

The entry looks very promising as we have already seen the so called "competition." Haha! The results would be out not until Nov.1 Manila time and all of us here at the office are so excited about it! It's heartwarming to hear such positive feedback from the photo I took and the poem I made. But I refuse to take sole credit for the job as it was a concerted effort from many of us here. The concept I had wouldn't have materialized if not for the efforts of the fantastic production team who made the whole set from where I drew inspiration of the Poem itself. Good Luck to us all and Happy Halloween and a peaceful All Saints' and Souls' Day!

P.S. I wrote my name as the author of the poem but when the draft was finalized, some "higher powers" decided to not make it part of the entry upon submission. That saddens me a lot.

A "Lovely" Night

A "Lovely" Night, originally uploaded by karoluscamilius.

"The Tale That Never Was"

A Cinderella Parody

A lovely night 'twas supposed to be
To meet her Prince and love-to-be.
Such tales instead possess the knack,
Of twisting fate with loathsome luck.
The Crooked Night had other plans,
A ball with chains in place of dance.
The stars in the lonely heavens trembled above her,
Not in amazement but in dread of danger.
"Oh Fairy-mother come to me!"
Girl of Cinders cried shakily.
No fairy dust however came,
But chilly winds of icy taste.

Here now you ask how it began
How Witch contrived her wicked plan.
At Hallows Eve this Girl did see
A lovely glow beneath the trees
Before her eyes to her delight
A pumpkin bore such lovely light.
The pumpkin flushed and how it grew!
Unknowing this was Witch's brew
For in her heart a true desire
Her heart the Prince had set afire
Attend the Ball now was a must
The tempting Coach she had to trust.

"There's no one here to heed your plea."
A whisper said so eerily.
A hag whose very breath can fell
From filthy brims where darkness dwells.
Now, the Girl of Cinders will forever be
Under her spell of uncertainty,
Of despair, where hope is forever lost
She found herself now trapped in frost.
The Girl of Cinders' story told
In rather dark and lonely prose
And this is how it came to pass.
A Tale of Cinders that never was.

-KC Alabanza