The Ballad of Old Narra Tree

Down the river by the valley,

Gruesome death seized old narra tree;
By the flood, 'twas swept ragingly,
Left at the mercy of the sea.


Hit and tossed by the angry waves,
It badly broke all of its limbs;
In the heart of the ocean's realms,
It was buried with all its dreams.


Old narra's woeful destiny,
Was man's responsibility.
He trampled very heedlessly,
Each big and little living tree.


He ruthlessly burned the forests,
And cleared the hills and the mountains;
All these, he did until the rains,
Came swiftly rushing down the plains.


Roaring wildly, the waters ran,
Towards the farms of the lowland;
Covering every blade and strand,
With silt and mud from the highland.


Even the slumbering bamboo,
By the current, was carried too;
Its creaking screams seemed to echo:
"Stupid man, I blame none but you!"


Then when came the season of heat,
The red sun glared in rays the seethe;
Scorching poor Mother Earth that writhe,
As she nurses her burns with spite.

She suffered and endured with gripe,
The grave disaster and the plight;
Brought about to the utmost height,
By ignorance and dim foresight.

Rain sulked too, for it couldn't find,
Friend narra in the vale enshrined;
Whom it used to call in the bend,
On its way to the rainbow's end.

And so, drought spelled over the range,
Fields died, from dehydrated veins;
Through man's blunder old narra was gone,
And spared from Heaven's wrath was none.










by: Maria Luisa Tejero Torrento

Boracay

When on that first of May afternoon,
We had to leave Boracay so soon;
I felt so lonely as one forlorn,
For the time that passed can't be reborn.

Petty memories that deck my mind,
Are but precious tokens I can find;
Of the blissful place we left behind,
With images in my heart enshrined.

The clean, white sands clinging to my feet,
Sunset where the sea and the sky meet;
Sand castles by the shore proudly greet,
Welcoming sightseers to a treat.

I shall always fondly remember,
Those fun-showered moments of summer;
And cherish through the changing weather,
The hours of communion with nature.

The morning mist that shields the sun's rays,
The evening fog that enshrouds the trees;
The blue water glimpsed from a terrace,
Boracay is blessed to have all these!





by: Maria Luisa Tejero Torrento

To A Flower

(Sampaguita)

Fairest bloom of summer,
Kissed by May time shower;
Why must you leave so soon,
Oh, sweetheart of the moon?

Now that storm days have come,
Joys in my heart are gone;
Blossoms that I adore,
Fragrance possessed, no more.

Fallen petals that deck,
The earth I now collect;
Faded, precious token,
Of star drops from heaven.

I'll always remember,
Withered bits of summer;
And cherish with fondness,
Your enchanting sweetness.




by: Maria Luisa Tejero Torrento

Gumamela

You grow within the rhythm of summer and rain,
Singing to your bright red blossom that looks so grand to me;
Though you breathe no scent of unforgettable fragrance,
You tenderly clutch my heart with a touch of mystery.

For even when you leave so soon at the close of the day,
And your withered petals down to the ground, crinkled, they lay;
Yet the splendid radiance of your color I recall
Till shadows of night lure my carefree soul to slumber fall.

And when the world is warm, again you rise and ache to bloom,
Then burn with gay colors of blazing hues, defying the gloom;
When I gently caress your ruffled hem, you seem to smile,
Spread your gown with more flare, filling the earth with cheer awhile.




by: Maria Luisa Tejero Torrento

Save the Earth

The sea is red,
Fishes are dead;
I truly dread,
Water is polluted.

If trees are cut,
Land will be hot,
Mountains will be bald,
There will be flood.

We won't live longer
If none will care
To love and spare
The gifts of nature.

Think of life's worth,
And the future births
Plant trees henceforth,
And save the earth.




by: Eugenio Tejero Torrento III

Because I Planted A Tree

What did I plant because I planted a tree?
A thousand things that we daily see;

I planted the ships that across the sea,
And the shade from the hot sun free;

I planted the buildings big and small,
The rubber tires and the rubber ball.

I planted a home for the birds and insects to rest,
A shelter for wild animals in the forest.

I planted pieces of furniture, elegant and durable
To fill the hall up to the wall;

Living ornaments that make the world bright and beautiful,
And paper books with pictures so colorful.

I planted nature's hands that grip the soil fast,
To keep it from being carried to the sea when flood is in full blast;

So too, the millions of natural siphons that hold surface water,
And save the earth from getting drier.

All these I did, and I say to thee,
Only because I planted a tree!




by: Maria Luisa Tejero Torrento