Sonnet To A Philippine Urn
O antique vase, yours is the priceless cost,
Embodiment of all I treasure most,
Let Keats extol his lovely Grecian urn,
But let my thoughts, to you, in fondness, turn.
In you, I see bright beauty of my land,
Blue sweep of sky where arching bamboos bend.
Green isles with cities, barrios, fields of grain,
Warmed by its sun and kissed by gentle rain.
Brown Clay, the Potter shaped from richest mold,
For freedom's sake, you fought with heart so bold!
Your spirit fired your countrymen to fight,
To break the yoke, to curb the Spanish might.
All Filipinos honor your dear name---
Great Plebian of the Katipunan fame.
(Andres Bonifacio organized the Philippine Revolution against Spain who colonized the Philippines for 300 years since Ferdinand Magellan discovered the islands in 1521 until 1896 uprising of the revolutionists headed by Bonifacio.)
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>>
