In Search of Galleons and Ships

Poem and Photographs by Chester B. Cabalza
Copyright © 2011 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

It once shone
like a gigantic star in the sea
but the sea, unmasked
mysterious tales.
The earthen vessels deciphered
profound antiquities...

almost four hundred years
a memory withdrawn in
oblivion before the truth revealed,
a mythical history by a heroic story,
depraved our minds
of Antonio de Morga's
one-act play?

In Fortune islands: a place of
outright cowardice. When rival
Dutch (Mauritius) fired cannon balls
to an admired galleon
a shipwreck haunted by
a mendacious ghost

the galleon buried,
rebuked under the sea of
disgraced tidal waves

But the antiquities spoke
for itself, it happened
The once majestic galleon,
sunk in its purest soul,
resurrected to grandiose
mysteries and discoveries

And it became the soul of the past...

Manila Ocean Park - It's All About Life And Living

About three years ago, upon Manila Ocean Park's soft opening, I decided to bring my family to see the country's first ocean park. I said to myself, "finally, we have our own oceanarium now to see any moment of the year!" According to its website (http://www.manilaoceanpark.com), from a spectacular marine themed park, Manila Ocean Park has finally evolved into Metro's holiday Ddstination where everything is all about Life and Living. An array of exciting attractions, enticing view of the bay, enriching marine life exhibits, entertaining dining and lifestyle shapes to mold into an integrated resort destination. Manila Ocean Park is proud to have a marine-themed park in the country that houses Life of the best of both under and over the sea!

Photographs by Chester B. Cabalza
Copyright © 2011 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

Hundred Islands (Waiting to Exhale)

Poem and Photographs by Chester B. Cabalza
Copyright © 2011 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

In the deep end of the gulf
When natural born divers
Swim gracefully, among the
School of fish, the beracudas,
And many creatures in a
Vast body of a deep blue sea
Only goggles as their apparatus
To explore the finest haven
Or empire that few can only see


They hold their breath
Crawling like an ell, to catch
A glimpse of an underworld sanctuary,
Peculiar colors of fish flash
To their sight, jellies as lanterns,
Corrals as grotto of tiny school,
Seahorses robe the majestic kingdom.
Beneath the endless basin,
A fortune of ornaments and splendor
Amaze divers
and like fish, they are bestowed with
Gills to breath underwater,
The mermen and guardians
of creatures of the abyss

So when divers exhale
No way the whale splash their breath,
Is like an astonishing relieve
To glance once more
The dome of the earth,
Heedless, the clear skies
Ready to clasp them in
Their resurrection,
And all the while they inhale
Oxygen

Then the underwater
Guzzle them again
To see more of the power
Down, down, down...

Corregidor Island (The Mile Long Ruins)

Poem and Photographs by Chester B. Cabalza
Copyright © 2011 by Chester B. Cabalza. All Rights Reserved.

The frontiers bounded by the strongest
and finest men,
warplanes, warships, while the
location (known as tadpole-shaped island)

Today
the mile long barracks,
ruins of great tunnels, prisons, camps,
excavated by the boldest defense yet
tainted with terror of a ravaged war.
Stood up with archaic honors
and a fading military strength...