CLASS REUNION AT THE BEACH

The silver year arrives at last,
appears past us like the wind.
Its coming is marked with lines
tattooed in our faces by time.

Survivors of squalls in life,
we splinter into smaller groups.
Then each of us recites a litany
of mysteries that go with ages.

At the corner, under the shade
of Talisay trees, whose twigs
bop to the whip of Habagat,
five tables stand, heavily laden

with good stuffs ready to cure
the cramping of our hunger.
The murmur of the waves kissing
the shore is like our wild defiance

when our teacher ordered us
to memorize Panatang Makabayan.
Here the space of time is warm
yet only the jars of punch juice sweat.

(Note: First published in Philippine Panorama, January 1, 2006)