From an army plane in 1979
Zamboanga and Basilan
Looked like exotic dots
Of paradise
In this ancient peninsula.
Nothing has changed
As I look into the picture
Taken from the air
Of Basilan in 2022.
The woman of the hour
Took the boat to this island
And her pictures triggered memories
Of earlier sojourn
With young distinguished musicians.
The surgeon-father of a great pianist
Stayed in Basilan in the 50s.
No use for him there
With patients mostly
Islanders felled by bullets
Or victims of hacking.
Once more in Zambo
In the late 90s:
My concert misery
Remained the same.
There are no good pianos
Upright or grand
Fit for Beethoven sonatas
Or a Chopin etude.
Piano prodigy was disconsolate
And so was the violinist.
We turned to a school
Ran by nuns
We got this answer,
‘That piano is only reserved
For Cecile Licad!’
We told her the piano prodigy
Is a student of the mother
Of Licad but she affirmed:
Her no is final.
The concert went well
Despite the bad pianos.
I had laps in Lantaka Hotel
To sooth my piano ordeal.
For now
I am all admiration
For this woman of the hour
Who braved the island
And seemed at ease
If, knowledgeable
Of its past and recent history.
What do I remember of these places?
I liked looking
At the island of Basilan
As I swam through
The pool of Lantaka Hotel
With Concierto de Arranjuez
In the background.
Did I not swim naked
On a river near Pasonanca Park
In 1979 while recovering from a story
Of a kidnapped foreign missionary
Who took the helicopter
Back to Manila before I could interview him?
Rewind:
Stayed longer with
The grand old man of Zamboanga
Who defied the dictator
And made fun of him
In a local elections.
I can see that a city park
Was named after him.
Shared countless meals with him
In his farm and in the nearby fishpond.
In 1984
I thought I cried
When I heard he died
From assassins’ bullets
While doing his usual daily chores
On a motorbike.
Last images of the place:
A quick walk by the sea
Dotted by colorful vintas;
The grand old man seeing me off
At a military airport
For a ride back to Manila
By army plane.
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