Letter To A Friend Poem by Fidel Arcenas

In our childhood we walked to school
With absent minds
We often laughed not knowing why.

In summers we climbed trees, buised our arms,
Laughed at our clumsiness.
We swam in that murky river not caring
Whether we floated or sank.

I remember Joseph found dead floating
Where the river met the tide.
We didn't cry, we thought maybe
God didn't want him to bull us anymore.

Your father died.
You told me he fell climbing a coconut tree.
Days later, you and your mother and
Your two older sisters went away.
You did not bother to bid me goodbye.

I wanted to find you.
I asked my parents to help
But they had things to do.

As years went by, I made other friends.
We seldom laughed.
We smoked and rank cheap rum and talked
About things that made us sad.
One time I was with them,
I thought of you and how we fished and halved
Our catch even if you hooked more than I did.

I went to a university.
Worked in a Chinese noodles factory
Whose owner curse me all the time
Because I brought books and read
After I stoked the fire.

I thought of you once in a while.
Each time I smiled.

I'm sorry I can't help you now.
You've been given death.
I am neither a lawyer nor
A judge who decides people's fate.

How I wish we had met even once before
We trod separate, irreversible paths.

It's Sunday tomorrow.
I will go to church,
I will light candles,
I will pray.

One of the reasons why
I am not saying
Goodbye.