WAITING

WAITING


I stand here so eagerly waiting for your coming

Like a tree that yearns for the passing pilgrim

Let my roots embrace your weary and dirty feet

And my branches soothes your crushed spirit

Let my fruits satiate the hunger of your longings

And my leaves clothe the nakedness of your soul

Let me cradle your shattered body in my shadows

But tarry not much in the solace of my comfort

The pilgrimage is long and beckons you to go on

Take with you my flower which is my heart

And know that I shall walk with you all the way

At the end of the road, I will be there waiting for you…

The photo was taken by my sister Ate Rose in Misibis Resort; it has been edited, thanks to Dr. Shervin Sison.

I was assigned in the Sacred Heart Mission in Cagararay Island in 1996 and stayed there for a year.  Misibis which  used to be part of that mission was very beautiful although the people were very poor.  Their white sand beach was stunning and I used to swim there together with the choir whenever I would celebrate my monthly mass with the people.  Now Misibis has been transformed into a world-class resort which caters for the rich and the famous: local and international movie stars, wealthy businessmen and jetsetters who can pay the very expensive amenities offered by the resort.  The one piece of a paradise by our poor people now belongs and being enjoyed by the wealthy.   It is nostalgic… well, that’s the price of development. 

The poem is about God who speaks in an anthropomorphic way to the reader-pilgrim through a tree.  God is the tree!  It has the tone of my favorite author, Kahlil Gibran.  God walks with us through and yet awaits at the end of the journey…