The Spectator Poem by RIC BASTASA

here in Dipolog
the girls are dancing the Tala
and the boys are joking
about the ugly ones
trying to make this hard day
lighter
like a kapok falling to the ground
releasing its flurry
with the black seeds to the ground

on the other hand the boys and girls
in Calapan are playing on the shores
of the sea
their backs against the backdrop of
the ash and the lightning
of Mt. Taal,

pictures of suffering and fear are shown
on tv and facebook
houses covered by ash
streets filled with ash
and dogs confused while being
abandoned by their masters
to die of the ash fall and
starvation

i ask myself what is happening
to me
a mere spectator trying to figure
out what kind of times are these
what signs are visible
and what to predict for tomorrow's
kind of apprehension and sorrow.