My Hometown

Where the birds, the bees and the butterflies
Freely frolic in the sun and rain, even at midnight;
Where the river and stream beam daylight
In the flickering gas lamps;
Where the sea inundates the shore
With crabs, shells and corals
From down the ocean floor;
Where the neighbors are gentle and kind,
And the air is fresh and free;
Where the farmers till their fields
Of green and gold, with heart and glory;
Where love triumphs always--over the ruins
Of nature's ever recurring tempest's fury;
Where women--young and old are modest and comely,
There, I first saw the light of day.
And when my dear Helen is old and weary,
And my sweet Muse has left me
For some bard somewhere--faraway,
To my beloved Magnesia (Virac), I'll be
Coming home and simply fade away.