Back To The Mountains Poem by RIC BASTASA

Father bought land. It was cheap, because you have to walk seven rivers, climb eight mountains, and walk another ten kilometers beside the forest where the monkeys keep on teasing passersby with their human appearances.

Father took me once there. We rode a white horse together. It was really exhaustive but upon reaching there you can see the world. You can even touch the sky.

There were horses there. Cows and goats, and fruit trees. It was a plateau with springs of water nearby. The ducks and chickens and pigs roam freely.

we stayed their for a month. I had dandruff because our viand everyday is native chicken. Chicken causes dandruff and i smell like chicken dung.

When father died, he left me that mountain as a secret. I am the only one who knows the way. I promised him that i will not tell my brother and four sisters.

Back to the mountain, like what father did, to have peace, I only have to speak to myself.

The winds at night shall hear me. And in the morning the mists and fog are my comfort. And then the mountains nearby shall be my echoes.

Despite father's cruelty, I still hold him with high esteem. He left me paradise. He
gave me the beauty of mountains, and the silence of the the peaceful nights away from the anxieties of the city and the troubles of the family.

Last night, I touched the sky.