The Vow
By: Roy Señeres
There was a place somewhere in Davao,
Where ‘tho a tad I made a vow,
With hornbills and primates of the fastnesses
My only witnesses.
T’was there i lived my first decade,
Studied ‘til fourth grade,
With parents, four siblings my loving family,
We lived so happily.
A beautiful two-storey house father made,
Atop a hilly glade,
Amid forest with lauan trees so tall,
T’was hard to count all.
Nearby were twin tranquil rivers,
Where I, sister and brothers,
Loved to fish, bathe and gather,
On water so clear.
Moonlit evenings were spent hearing,
Mother’s tales all ending-
“And they lived happily ever after,”
Lulling us into slumber.
Then fowls and cattle in loud cacophonies
Would stir even the paddies.
Rousing us to behold the break of dawn
And white dews on the lawn.
The farms was scores more than a hectare
That father bought after the war.
This the tilled aided by neighbors and friends,
Who came from various ends.
Mother so pleasant and caring was always there,
Heartening fathers to persevere.
She never ceased to support father,
On every family matter.
The friends’ smiles and cheerful chatter,
Were messages so clear.
Which I appreciated and understood
Despite my boyhood.
Friends came ‘cause our parents and brood,
Were equally helpful and good.
Our place was remote, but it had promise and hope,
And people helped each other to cope.
My parents and friends were closely-knit,
But despite toil and grit,
The farm failed to yield crop and bounty
Expected by all and sundry
Then one day when I was ten years of age,
Parents decided w leave the acreage,
Accepting God’s will fortitude and courage,
They showed no trace of umbrage
Now in Abu Dhabi and more than three decades later,
That place I can still remember.
It beckons me to- go back there.. go back there...
Go back there..
Be there.. And capture the gaiety I that glade,
Hear and echoes that never fade.
The laughter of mother and her only daughter,
My beautiful, be dimpled sister.
Reminisce father’s vigor at the prime of manhood,
And over us, his kind master hood,
Brother’s dash gusto and playful jest,
Our searching for birds nest.
The sight of a young family praying together,
That God may keep them forever.
The breath-taking landscape, nature’s panorama,
A never ending drama.
The whisper of the wind, the humming of bees,
The caress of the breeze.
The pitter-patter of rain falling from the eaves,
The rustle of leaves.
The stomping of carabao hoofs the thud of ploughs,
The cracking of brittle boughs.
The call of the wild from nearby boondocks,
The cockle-a-double-doo of cocks.
Be there, to once again, behold the break of dawn,
The white dews on the lawn.
See if the twin tranquil rivers still flow
Reflecting heaven’s starry glow.
Yes.. I will go back there to fulfill a vow,
With big family in tow
I’ll be there to relive that decade of fun
In that home of my boyhood, Nabunturan.
-End-
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
August 1987 |
