My summer vacation will end soon. Next week, the classes for the first semester of my fourth year in college will start already. Though I find my break too short, I could say that this is one of the best summer vacations I have had. If you'd ask me why, I'd say it's because of the people that I've met these past few months with the travels I had. I guess the gift of friendship is the best thing that I got this summer. I really am blessed to have met friends from my trip to Cebu City (for Pathways Youth Conference and Democracy Summer Fest) and Maguindano (for ELSA Young Leaders Camp). Also, I'm glad I have come across some people who have become my pals and have a chance of getting to know more about some acquaintances through my side trips in Davao City, Sarangani and GenSan City.

Overjoyed with what I have gained this summer, I tried to look for a poem about friendship that could inspire me. Surprisingly, I found a poem which I can relate to and  I believe perfectly describes me and what I used to feel before I've found some of my friends this vacation.

The Dummy

by Michael Mack

In that forgotten part of town
Where wasted hopes and dreams abound,
A wrinkled man with life near end,
In hopes to have at least one friend,
Fashioned bits of wood and things
And made a dummy run by strings.

He sat alone for hours on end,
Conversing with his only friend
And found delight within the fact
That he controlled it's every act.
He told it how he never had
A chance, since all his luck was bad
Although he'd tried so to succeed -
The dummy nodded and agreed.

And how his journeys in romance
Had never given him a chance,
And wasn't it a crying shame
That he was always held to blame
When everyone knew, oh so well,
That life is but a living Hell,
Controlled by lust and power and greed?
The dummy nodded and agreed.

With patience that would rival saints,
That dummy sat through all complaints
And, with each little expert tug,
He'd droop his head or bow or shrug
And give some comfort to the man
Who held his lifelines in his hand
And helped to fill a lonely need
When he just nodded and agreed.

Senility increased with time
As did the old man's phantomime,
And feverish fingers pulled with glee
The dummy's dance of misery.
They never left each other's side
Until the day both stopped and died.
We found them lying, hand in hand,
The dummy - and his wooden friend.