Yes, I vividly recall
the nights
And days we seem
to get along:
Was it just a year
or eonspast?
But it feels like a lifetime;
Or, another life;
yes, another time !
Honestly,howregretful
are the ways
Those nights progress, fade :
When shackled games
are played and replayed;
When spirits and egos
are bloated, sullied!
And then, there
you are , Amparo —
Coming like a fresh whiff
of air most serene
Sobering the drunkenness
ofsouls disappeared,
Massaging the numbness
of aruined, snuffed heart.
But, why, I asked,
O’ happiness dear,
As the laughterfills,
nay, overflows my glass,
arranging, uttering,
singing affectionate songs,
As the letters flow, rage down
my pen’svein,
rummaging , dredging
o’er buried pasts;
You remove
thewinged shield
thatfreely nurtures,
thatnaturally fortifies;
I am, ruined now,
buried.
By the hills
defenseless.
Broken,
alone.
Again.
—
Mr. Zarate is Bayan Muna representative at the 16th Congress.