Retrace
in Dumaguete
at 4 o'clock in the morning
you went out of the ship to take a walk along
the boulevard: an old one
with a story to tell
the one that you like to hear
again and again
this time
the heavy rains intervened
forgivable as it is the first heavy rain in the city
for the past five months
people stand along the side
of the covered pathway
watching
the rain
you sit on one of those benches
where breakfast is served
cheap
fish and rice and coffee
the roof leaks
and drops of rain begins to hit
your shoulder
a man beside you
with some tattoo on his arms
looks at you like you are the man whom
he had been searching
all the years of his life
you stare back
sort of saying
you are not afraid
for this encounter
he looks away knowing that you also know
what betrayal is
what a war is
what killing fields are
he sidesteps your gaze
unzips his fly
and urinates pointing to the heavy rain
this is pure disrespect to the rain
you stop eating
brace the rain beyond the roof
[...] Read more
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Added by Poetry Lover
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