Right Here..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

right here
in zamboanga peninsula
we behave just as
we behaved years ago
as though
corona virus does not exist
we party and party and
hug and drink and laugh
as though it is the last
drink the last dance and the
last party

when people die
we cry and we bury them
with dignity
when a baby is born
we gather
and we suggest a new
name

why worry? has worry
cured this misery?
why change? there is nothing
to change
it is the same birth
same death and there
is nothing new
to make us run away
and where?