Batch 1981......... Poem by RIC BASTASA

yes the mirror saves us.
we watched our faces after
the drunken party and we
must admit there is still
a patch of our brow or that
forehead or that island of
hair that is worth saving

or even worth dying at such
a perfect moment when we can
declare that we have already
outlived our usefulness.

a man for others was what
was hammered by the jesuits to
us
the song remains to be that
we never lived for ourselves
alone
that one is not true to himself
if he has not offered his
service to God and country or

that one must learn to love
himself for how can he love
others if one does not begin
with his self?

on that crazy day we forget
our pride and prejudice
our great father word a net of
the fish as his garments and he
laughed like a fool in the
streets of davao

the virgins in us are awed
we shy away from the hazards of smoke
and embraced the solitude of
hard studies

others wonder how focused have we
become like blind horses running in the
wilderness of the red sands in
general santos

we made it to the top and we
accepted our chosen loneliness.