Stranger

You had been here

You had come wading to shore

Wearing a raiment of corals and sea grass

And flotsam surrendered by the sea

You had been in this valley

Where you let grow

Cathedral trees laden

With words that fall and flow

On the riverine channels of my mind

You had been on this hill

Where eagles go home to die

Poured out the ocean from your eyes

And then were gone

I have met you, stranger

You have followed from sea to star

Pursuing roaring

Like the wind in a lost empty city

Staying softly

Like the shadows of clouds

On the crag of cliffs at noon

And then were gone

You have walked me

Across sandstorms and rainstorms

Across fields turned white by lightning

To that forest clearing

That heaved with a thousand unwritten songs

    And then were gone

You have walked me

To the edge

And bade me to cross

Alone

    And then were gone

I arrive at last and realize

You have been waiting

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

Ma. Ceres P. Doyo has been a journalist for more than 40 years. Her written works have won numerous awards, among them, two National Book Awards for Journalism (2015 and 2022). She writes a weekly column, the “Human Face,” for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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