Philippines, My Humble Abode Poem by Kristina Tapayan

The rich, thick soil in my hand I have press
The green, lush leaves in their stems I caress
In my clear vision, in the light, there was life
In the dark side of this land, in war, there was a knife

I saw the pool of blood and the river of tears
I stood their frozen, unable to face such fears
I started to question where my loyalty lies
But I knew that would lead to my full demise

Many years have passed and this is still my home
As I go through it all I was never alone
In the hands of many captors, we have all flee
Thousands of feet in the sand, we shout, "WE'RE FREE! "

How I love my dear exotic country the Philippines
It is unlike any other place you have seen
There is no other country I would love
Black, brown and white, all equal, no one was above

I am content with all of our happy lives
True freedom, a feeling worth all the dives
We are known as the eastern pearl
Beauty is what you see when you enter our world

We welcome foreigners as they enter our motherland
A land of history and intrigue is where they stand
The place full of people who are dancing freely
They all stopped and greeted the foreigners happily

We may not be that advanced in technology today
But we are full of agriculture, we are proud to say
I traveled through my country and it was such an adventure
But I was not satisfied and continued to venture

In my sweet and precious motherland
Here I will always make a stand
To face all obstacles down the crumbled road
But welcome to the Philippines, my humble abode