Argeraint's Essays: "Gabu" by Carlos Angeles
We often compare life to the sea because just like the sea, life has it's high points and low points. And just like the sea, we are all heading towards the shore to find rest and to journey no more. That is what is seen in "Gabu" by Carlos Angeles.
"Gabu" is a six stanza poem that tells about a desolate place named Gabu, a place that time has forgotten and all the things we love are left behind. The poem also discusses the feeling of restlessness and the longing for rest.
I've read this poem back in my senior year and I have a feeling I connected it to time and loss as it was just a year since I lost my father. Rereading it now brought up different feelings, something reminiscent of last year's struggles: how I felt like everything was spiraling and how I was slowly falling down into a dark abyss. I desperately wanted to rest but despite that, I moved forward no matter how hard it was.
We all have our fair share of life, we all long to rest, we all know the feeling of the weight pressing down on us—it hurts, doesn't it? It feels like you're detached and whole at the same time. That is the voice that speaks to me as I read it today.
As I read "Gabu", I also can't help but think about "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. As much as I haven't read the story, it was mentioned in the movie "Detachment" (2011) where it was said that the story wasn't just about how the house was in ruins but it was also about a state of being. I think "Gabu" is like that as well. It's not just about the empty shore and grey scenery of waves crashing recklessly on sharp rocks, it also embodies one's state of being. How one can feel empty but still chooses to move on with their life that in their state of restlessness they become reckless and can end up hurting themselves.
As we ride on the waves of life, we shouldn't forget that we can also set aside our oars and rest by the shore. There is no use trying to conquer the sea as there is no way to, we can only let it work to our advantage or let it destroy us.
