here once was a kingdom of Caboloan
where the mighty Amian
stood still with the stalwart
blades of defiant bamboo grass
its rivers ancient as the blude-song
& verbs running in my veins
its forests its hillocks
its plains lush with gold & green
orient as the Garden of Eden
its air filled with the sweetness
of wanton flowers
with the Sanskrit songs of barbaric birds
& turtledoves
O here once was my demesne
my Euphrates
my Hanging Gardens
my Babel
my Troy
buried in the translucent pages
right here in the province of my heart
& in the afric of my mind
strange
that i wordlessly remember its dusks & dawns
i still hear its plaintive call
softly speaking softly through my words
& in the falling rain
nourishing my dry soul
