What was the best compliment you’ve received?
In response to the daily prompt, I’m gonna share ‘The Metaphysician’. The poem forms part of my collection.
‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds’ – Albert Einstein, Nobel-winning physicist
Neither mathematician nor magician
He’s the self-styled metaphysician
Doesn’t dissect human bodies in the infirmary or on stage
He solves no conundrums not Einstein in a rage
Topher ain’t a lifesaver
Resurrects word, style, and stanza a mad player
Being a physician or astronaut would be nice, except for the ghastly hours or stress
A wise man averred that you’re smarter, Chris
They hold stethoscopes but can’t write like you
At eighteen, they won’t score 8.5 in the IELTS, true
He’s Rizal’s character, pilosopong Tasyo
Types in his peerless style, shoo
Bored with school
Needed a new pool
He sat in philosophy and ‘majored’ in verses
Studied the greats from John Milton, Edgar Allan Poe, even dirges
Jose Garcia Villa was, by far, his favourite
Amazing how an expat figured prominently a treat
The Comma Poet’s rich family owned land in Manila
His father, the president’s private physician, hand no time for matata
Senior envisioned him as a doctor
At UP, he was banned for his poetry’s explcit amour
Moved to the States, heeded the patriarch, enrolling in New Mexico
Writing was his true passion, mi amigo
Had rocky relations with his dad
Like a trope from Breaking Bad
His story collection’s response was tepid
Critics told him stick to poetry, his new meal ticket
Like Villa, Topher aspires to be the metaphysician par excellence
Learned from the deadliest, including the Pope he’ll fill the silence
Being Asian shouldn’t matter
His writing’s riveting so he’ll deliver
At fifty, Jose had published his last book
As the Godfather, the ‘Pope of Greenwich Village’ could fill every nook
A 1973 National Artist, one of Literature’s first
When all is said and done, his work’s never a caricature
His opinion mattered
A recluse who was always flattered
How many lives will a surgeon save? Conversely, who won’t make it on their watch?
What is our final page count? In crunch time, will he come up clutch?
Will his seeds materialise?
His body of work, immortalised?
He could try his best
So here are his finest.
If you enjoyed this poem, you could check out more from my collection. The eBook version of Musings can now be purchased from my website for $1.69.
https://topherong.net/product/musings-poems-selected-and-new
