Foot and Fire

I did not know  that you were aching  to see my spotted Samson-like muscles  in your waking hours.   Each day, I pass by your shore  and I do not mind you  because I am on a mission. I am no Samson of your circus;  I was born to filter the waters  that is the source of your life.  I am nature's Ecosystem Engineer. Yet you simply admire my monstrosity,  and perhaps, you are only attracted  by the danger attached to my last name.  Do not be fooled.  My bloodline is sure made to fiercely bite while I was created to humbly clear your waters.  You lure me with your tiny reddish catch everyday  and I tend to heed your altogether generous and alluring call. You captivate me, I must admit. But I have to quickly shake myself  from this madness:  If I continue being with you this way,  I will let your waters get red.  And I will lose you. Slowly. Surely. *Copyright 2016 Gerlie M. Uy Inspired by my two visits in Oslob, Cebu in

Owing to the new year's long holiday, I was able to watch "In the Heart of the Sea"  (2015) which is a fictional narration of a true event that is supposed to be the inspiration of Herman Melville's book we now know as "Moby Dick." It is a story of how sailors braved the seas searching for oil by capturing whales and extracting oil from them on board only to be met by a big whale that destroyed their ship. Some sailors survived, but not without doing the unthinkable. By the end of the 1800's the whaling industry which provided whale oils used for oil lamps and soap is already giving way to kerosene and vegetable oils by the start of the 1900s. Whaling is now generally banned worldwide. The movie made me think back to the Whale Sharks of Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. I did not swam with the Whale Sharks or Butandings after reading an article that such tourism industry being promoted by Oslob is actually not animal-friendly because it makes the whale sha