To the Man I Married

One of the poems in the book Philippine Literatures that had caught my attention is the poem “Patalim”, written by Cirilo F. Bautista. The said poem is a part of Bautista’s famous work, TiniksaDila: IsangKatipunanngmgaDula. The poem struck my heart for it literally talks about how a couple express their love to one another by means of fighting, and I surely can’t deny the fact that I somehow can relate to it. The couple in the poem fights over dominance. I believe that there are many couples out there that are also like the couple in the said poem. They fight and argue the whole time over simple things. Shouts, foul words, an big furious eyes are just some few words that your mind can think of when you hear the phrase, “a fighting couple”. To some, when they see an arguing couple over the street, over a fastfood chain or anywhere else, they will think that how come these couple fight, don’t they love each other enough that they can’t even control their emotions?
Kaya sa katapusan ng araw
Magbibilang kami ngsugat
At tilamgagulanitnakaluluwa
At magtatawanan
Magsusuntukan pa
Ganito kami lagisapagkat
Labis ang pag-ibig naming sa isa’tisa
The above verse, taken from the poem, shows how the couple after all the arguments they had, became all right at end of the day. The inevitable arguments you have with one another doesn’t have to cause turbulence in the relationship. In fact, when handled correctly, conflict can help you better understand and appreciate each other. Not because a couple fights, it already means war between the both of them; sometimes, the squabble of the couple clearly expresses their affection to one another in an odd and unique kind of way.It also shows that you’re invested enough to want to hash something out instead of just writing each other off. As warped as it sounds, disagreements can actually provide an opportunity for you and your partner to grow closer — if you deal with them constructively instead of letting them devolve into