A lovely Monday evening Migrant Writers of Hong Kong!
It's another segment of our Monday #ONSPOTLIGHT and our feature writer/poet is all the way from our very own Philippines, the #PrismofLife book author himself Sir Jeffrey Cejero
https://www.facebook.com/jeddacanay
Sit back and relax and join us reading his one a kind self BIO and achievements.
A day before the beginning of my everything
A voice asked me, “Of all the elements, which do you like best?”
I immediately answered, “Fire!”
The voice kept quiet so I elaborated my answer.
"I am fascinated with the sun and the stars.
I love everything that is shining and warm.
I am afraid of darkness and loneliness.
I don’t want anything that is cold."
“Why you didn’t choose water?” the voice asked.
“Water is life and I love it, too
But I want to follow my own desire and plan.
Unlike water, I follow my own flow and way.”
“How about earth?” the voice continued asking.
“Earth has a strong foundation and supports life
But I want to be free, I don’t want to be mountains nor rocks
For they are not allowed to move freely.”
“Move freely? Then choose air,” the voice was trying to persuade me.
“Air has absolute freedom but still fire is the best.
Fire, unlike other elements needs to be controlled.
Every being has power and this power needs to be controlled and guided.”
“Tell me, what do you do most of the time?” the voice continued asking.
“I love reading all the works of civilization
And I love playing chess! Do you know that game?
I also love stargazing and watching the sunset.”
“I love visiting the land of Maharlikas.
I love staying at the foot of Cordillera mountains.
I love the story of Biag ni Lam-ang…”
Then the voice disappeared… and I was born!
I was born in the Pacific Ring of Fire, in the land of Maharlikas specifically to where Lam-ang was born.
My parents named me Jeffrey Cejero and "Jeff" is my nickname.
I grew up in a small village at the foot of Cordillera mountains.
As a child, I grew up full of explosive energy, naughty but kind.
My energy is limitless and my smile is very warm.
At present, I am a light to hundreds of learners and to my own three kids.
In my vacant time, I love reading and playing chess.
Last July 2021, I just discovered that there was a twinkling poet in my soul.
I am a member to many Facebook poetry groups
And they have helped me reach for one of my dreams-
That is to publish my own book, “Prism of Life”.
I am blessed for having these loving homes as a poet.
I’m a public-school teacher in the Division of Pangasinan II. I am a multigrade teacher handling both grades 5 and 6 as my advisory classes and the school I serve is one of the last mile schools in the country. I’m one of the few teacher-scholars in the country. I am a master teacher who was sent to University of the Philippines- Diliman Campus to obtain the Certificate in Multigrade Teaching. This coming June 2022 will mark my 20 years as a teacher.
My work as a teacher requires great planning and strategy. I don’t just teach one class as my advisory class but rather I handle 2 grade classes. During face-to-face classes, I am equipped to handle and teach these 2 classes at the same time. Our school is one of the few last mile schools in the Philippines meaning it is a school with multigrade classes, limited number of teachers and do not have complete sets of school furniture and lacking laboratory tools and equipment.
Sometimes, I’m also invited as a resource speaker during school, district, division and regional seminars. I’m also a successful coach with winnings up to the national level. I have already developed learning materials in the division, region and national levels.
I never thought I would be a poet someday and my talent in poetry was only discovered accidentally. All I thought, I didn’t know how to compose a poem. My first poem was written in June 2021 and it was written in Filipino. I did this composition because I was a national writer at that time and I was assigned to develop a learning activity sheet to be used by every multigrade learner in the country. I just thought at that time to write a simple Filipino poem because that was the best way to accomplish my assigned task. Then, in July 2021 I joined to different facebook poetry groups to develop my writing skill in poetry and it was this time that I started to compose English poems. My skill in poetry was purely enhanced by these poetry groups and also through self-study.
I think I’m very good in writing poems with sad theme but if you’re going to read my compositions, they are well-distributed to various topics and themes. I love to write with restrictions. I found this as very challenging. This is the reason I love experimenting and composing poem with different forms.
I love playing chess. I love reading novels, history and science. I also love watching animation.
My family is my number one inspiration for writing. My ability to compose is mostly limited to my feelings and my eagerness. If I’m not in the mood, it’s so hard for me to write. My family, my eagerness to learn and my surroundings are usually my inspirations for writing.
Yes, I am already a published author and my book is entitled, “Prism of Life: A Collection of 100+ Poetry Forms”. I also just finished moderating and compiling an anthology of about 1000 poems written in 100 forms by 100+ poets and poetesses around the world. This anthology will be released at the end of March or in April.
This poetry book, “Prism of Life: A Collection of 100+ Poetry Forms” shows various examples of poems written in different forms. Some of the poetry forms included in this book are haiku, triolet and various forms of sonnet.
This poetry collection is appropriate for aspiring writers who want to study and learn more about poetry and its forms, and therefore, it is educational. This book is entitled “Prism of Life” because it is a mash-up of various themes that blend with the writer’s emotions. With the help of his family, who created the illustrations and did the editions, and some of his friends in poetry, this is unquestionably a must-read book for everyone.
This book acts like a prism where light is poetry and poetry forms are the colors in spectrum.
This book is available on amazon, bookemon and lulu.
Writing is life. It continues to improve as long as there is life. Writing stops when life stops but both leave a great legacy. Life leaves memories while writing leaves immortal wisdom.
I am more a writer than a speaker. My skill in writing is one of my strengths as a teacher. There are so many teacher-works related in writing. Writing poems enhances my skill in writing and helps me a lot in teaching. My skill in poetry helps me in developing learning materials which is a great help in providing meaningful learning experiences to my learners.
Life is like a prism. A prism splits white light into seven colors. Each color is equally beautiful and has its distinct characteristics. It symbolizes something and sometimes it affects our emotions or our thinking. Like prism, life is colorful. It is not only made of happiness and sweetness but sometimes sadness and bitterness. If you plan to write, explore this prism of life. Don’t just limit yourself to one color because a rainbow is only beautiful because of its various colors.
Fly higher against the current of wind
Sail further against the ocean waves
And dig deeper even against a mountain of rocks
For success is only for those who never give up!
This book is also available online via amazon, lulu and bookemon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MV6Y621
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/jeffrey-dacanay-cejero/prism-of-life-a-collection-of-100-poetry-forms/paperback/product-7ne4w7.html?page=1&pageSize=4
https://www.bookemon.com/book-profile/prism-of-life-collection-of-100-poetry-forms/919223
That's both intensive and extensive Review Jeff. Fire makes a soul moves, ignites a desire, fuses enthusiasm, and burns the spirit to illumine the world!
