Night of the Aswang
On a night when the moon and
the stars are fled,
And the howling dogs sound drear,
And the owl hoots her call to
the lonely dead,
The old Aswang flies near!
Stony and wicked a stare has she,
Malignant and cruel as can be.
A body from head to waist has she,
Shriveled and withered and leathery.
When strikes the witching hour
Flies out this demon ghoul,
Of black magic, she has the pow'r
To do her deeds most foul.
She settles on a roof and so
Her thread-like tongue unreels
And sips the blood of her prey below
Till she, the victim, kills.
On a night when the moon and the
stars are fled,
And the howling dogs sound drear,
All children are hushed and
then sent to bed,
Or else--- the old Aswang
flies near!
Oriental Madonna
Sonnet To A Philippine Urn
Wanderer's Song
Corps De Ballet
Summer Idyl
Fourteen
Maid Of Mabanglu
Faceless Valentine
Why?
First Love
Lost Love
Morning At Laguna De Bay
Night of the Aswang
Ferris Wheel
Intrusion
Telephone Conversation
Ing Balen Cung Bamban
The Sibal Family History In the nineteenth century, in the southern tip of Tarlac province in Luzon, Philippines, a dozen siblings came from the province of Pampanga and founded the town of Bamban.The siblings were surnamed Sibal and consisted of eleven brothers and one sister who married a Maristela man. The Sibal brothers called this place Bamban because of the smooth, thornless bamboo that grew in large clumps and the name of this bamboo is “bamban.” The place was very fertile for fields of rice and sugar cane and all kinds of fruit trees. It was very near the foothills of the large chain of Sierra madre mountains where abound hardwood trees of narra, lauan, wild animals such as deer, wild boars and all kinds of flora and fauna. The mountains were on the western side of Bamban, while on the southern side ran a river that teemed with fish. On the banks of this river called Parua, there were stones and sparkling sand brought by the current. The bank of the river was a forest full of pine trees (Pinus insularis) and the wind whistled its song through their boughs. At that time, Bamban was a veritable paradise. more>>
