MOONSET AT CENTRAL PARK STATION OF ST.

PAUL SUBTERRANEAN
RIVER NATIONAL PARK
John Iremil E. Teodoro
This morning, it forgot to
after the faint scent thank me.
of sea grasses
awakened me, It didn’t even bother
I followed To look back –
the setting moon It swam quickly
in the reef flats away from me.
in front of my It dived
bamboo cottage. towards the direction
of the horizon
I nearly stepped on where the moon
a parrotfish was hiding.
that was caught
by the low tide. Perhaps in next visit
it was as big that parrotfish
as my slipper. will surprise me
with a greeting.
I picked It shall brag to me
its slimy body about its scales
and returned it painted by
to the sea. the setting moon.
In its excitement
(First appeared in the book Paruparu at Korales/Butterflies and Corals: A Collection of
Palawan Poems in Filipino and English published by Bandillo ng Palawan Foundation,
1999).