Poems ritualized in print

Dua'ran anlong ko lamet ed English ya wala'y titulon "A Poet Speaks of Caboloan" tan "O Morpheus" so nipalapag ed Philippine Graphic (4 June, 2007 issue).

A Poet Speaks of Caboloan

here once was a kingdom of Caboloan
where the mighty Amian
stood still with the stalwart
blades of defiant bamboo grass
its rivers ancient as the blude-song
& verbs running in my veins
its forests        its hillocks
its plains lush with gold & green
orient as the Garden of Eden
its air filled with the sweetness
of wanton flowers
with the Sanskrit songs of barbaric birds
& turtledoves
O here once was my demesne
my Euphrates
        my Hanging Gardens
                my Babel
                        my Troy
buried in the translucent pages
right here in the province of my heart
& in the afric of my mind

strange
that i wordlessly remember its dusks & dawns
i still hear its plaintive call
softly speaking softly through my words
& in the falling rain
nourishing my dry soul

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