"She is still here, my darling. My beautiful Galatea.
She is as lovely as ever. Time has no power to dim her beauty. I am grateful that she will be forever young, lithe, and graceful. That I will never have to see her become what I have become. Old.
Bards will take our story, and turn the tragedy into a romance. They will make it end happily. People love a happy ending.
While I, I will wait for Galatea.
For as long as it takes.
For ever."
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So ends the short story "Carved in Stone" by Kathryn Cecile Umali from the Malate Literary Folio; a retelling of the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. Unfortunately, in this story, Aphrodite does not intervene with their love affair to perform her miracle of turning Galatea human.
Having been evicted from my old room presented an unexpected treat, wherein I am able to find forgotten treasures, like this compliation of poems and short stories from my college days. I wouldn't have been able to read it had I not been forced to rearrange my things, so I guess the inconvenience that moving has presented is somehow offset by the pleasures of reuniting with old favorites.
Along with the Malate Literary Folio, I found a piece I wrote after first reading Carved in Stone, some seven years ago.
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Pygmalion
Her locks - finely wrapped at her head
Her lips, pucked so gracefully, yearning to be taken
The arms - gait and modest,
not the faintest touch of error
Her face, glowing with beauty
Her all, as all there is - Beauty.
Perfection; all she will ever be --
carved in stone.
09Dec00 8.00pm
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I don't know. I used to wax superlatives over this piece, but I guess the years have somehow dimmed its value for me. Another one for the editing room, I guess...
hmm.. reworking past works attracted me too, before. gives one the chance to breathe new life to old favorites dimmed by the years. but something stopped me from doing it.. nostalgia? lazyness? both? hehehe.
ReplyDeletenahh. i just like going over 'em to laugh at how immature and unpolished my writing style was, back then. gives me the chance to see my current work in the light of the past and marvel one's progress.
oy ha. hindi naman ako nagbubuhat ng sariling bangko hehehe, nagpapaliwanag lang. :)
@ Gentle: wala naman akong sinasabing nagbubuhat ka ng bangko. hehe
ReplyDeleteNatigil din kasi talaga ako sa pagsusulat, and somehow, I'm finding it hard to write again, and this is aggravated by my current working conditons.
okay naman siya ah...simple yet poignant. :) but i guess the writer should be happy with his work first...medyo OC din ako kapag inspired magsulat..hehe!
ReplyDeleteedit mo. then post it. we'll read it!