Between Appari and Jolo

A child is following the dike
with his noble beast
and a load of ricestalks
to bury in the mudcake

A child is harvesting the bounty
of the site in Payatas
as dump trucks piles up more
into the Himalaya of garbage

A child is gathering corals and shells
in the middle of the day
in his eyes are the shadows
and the secrets of the sea

A child is cuddling his fallen comrade
tears and blood littering the sacred ground
another gunshot is fired, softly
the red-blude sun sets in the horizon

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