thoughts of healing and prayers for mother earth

it is not a floating market nor is it a race, locals saved by fellow kababayans in bangkas post-10 days of non-stop rain that led to severe floodings in Manila, Luzon, Philippines that took 11 lives, affected 1 million people. And yet on the other side of the globe, black toxic smoke filled the air in Richmond, California, as an explosion and fire occurred at a Chevron refinery. i became ill at the same time these two events occurred, rooted are the connections, one in a place I grew up in as a child, the other place I and loved ones currently live in, both = mother earth. i continue to pray for healing not just for humans but for our mother earth. but we have to be smarter, plant trees, build where it’s safe, plan ahead. something’s have to change for future generations

black smoke post-fire in Chevron refinery, Richmond, California, USA

 

butterfly (for m leng leng)

Dreamweaver, fluttering through the colors

Of a never-ending rainbow in this July haze,

Wings of water, seamless and endless as clouds,

You seek for the tropic sky’s healing embrace.

 

It is this free spirit, transparent and prism-pure,

Lead me to where my pens, bundled by molten

Rubber bands, lie static beneath an age-old

Magkono, the iron wood, unsharpened.

 

Water-borne fairy in Cinderella’s shoes

Torn between home and the royal party —

A living dream lived the way T’bolis sing

As Higaonons weave music with kubings,

Pulalas, congas and bamboo bird flutes

Dancing in black, yellow, red and blue suits.

 

Let your whirlwind journey take you back

To the cocoon from where you first took flight

And the rites of Ifugaos and spirits of the terraces,

Datu Wala and the nymphs of Agusan marshes

Wing you to where canoes and bigiws unite

As paddles gleam when bubbles greet the Light.

Once again, I let loose my pens!

written by Sir Coy P Ponte, August 2012 (permission granted by author to post in bangka journey’s blog)