Oriental madonna
A beautiful, haunting kundiman I heard,
Which floated in woodlands like song of the bird,
I looked for the singer, with surprise I saw
Ethereal vision in moonlight’s soft glow.
Oriental Madonna as radiantly fair
As gleaming of moonbeams that played in her hair,
Her golden brown beauty which tropic climes kissed,
Wore Philippine raiments of gossamer mist.
She stood on a hill with the wind in her hair,
Her kudyapi strumming as she sang a sad air,
How truly pathetic were all of her songs
Her sweet face reflected the tale of past wrongs.
I thought she was young, not more than twenty one,
I shivered to learn she had many a son.
Their names I recall not, save these few so far,
Rizal, Bonifacio, and the young Del Pilar.
By loving her dearly, brave sons died for her,
While breathing her dear name on dying lips sere;
My lady was sobbing her woes to the skies
While singing her stories with deep tender sighs.
A chilling night wind blew a sharp mighty gust
The figure then vanished in streams of stardust,
Like shimmering fireflies, the atoms took flight,
Once more, silence reigned in the bright starry night.
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>>
