A Requiem for Las Islas Filipinas
Posted by conscientioussubversive on January 20, 2010
A land torn apart
By her sons and daughters
A magnificent house rent asunder
By intruder and native alike
Where once was beauty
Now only a shadow remains
Four centuries have taken their toll
Staining her glittering face
She was unique in all the world
Where three continents met
Asian, American and European
She melded all into one
Agrifina Circle, in the 1950's
Tragedy shadowed her past
Yet she took all gracefully
Her people shedding blood for her
Unrewarded and forgotten
Conquistadors and Frayles
GIs and Thomasites
Heitais and Sangleys
Came and left their mark
Torched by fire
Shaken by the earth
Inundated by heaven
Calamities brought her to heel
The Rape of Manila, February 1945
Each time she survived
Rising again from the ashes
Yet mortality stalks her
As her progeny pick her bones
Cumulonimbus clouds over the Pasig River
Her white arches now cracked
Her palisades crumbled by neglect
A crippled dignity now pervades
The Grand Dame of the Orient
Used by many
Loved by few
Where are you now, Manileños?
What now, my kababayans?
