After Santiago Villafania

I found myself once more in Bocboc West today
From distant roads I walked with footsteps moving slow

We once feared every sign of fate's abrupt display
And poets aged with us in silence bending low

I heard an ancient tale returning soft and clear
A life exemplary remembered in its light

As spoken in the Talmud wisdom wandered near
And whispered that old age will come with gentle light

When leaves begin to fall the wind repeats its name
And in my quiet mind horizons open more

The darkness swallowed words too fragile to reclaim
And left my weighted heart unsure of what they bore

So let us cast this truth across the province wide
Now tell me, poet-friend, what stirs in you inside?