Sometimes, the heart yearns, For mangoes where there are apples,, For orchids where there are tulips, For warmth, where it is cold, For mountainous islands, Where there is flatland.
Behold the bladed poem
Tensile and razor-sharp
Cold and glinting silver
In the light or dark.
See how the blackbird
Of a hilt flies
Bedecked with pearls
On the firm mobile...
The fickle-minded spirits and fairies have fled the old trees and groves, Dark caves and mounds in the shadows, mossy rocks and whispering streams. The gnarled balete and the blackbird
Have lost their intriguing power.
Panelists from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the communist National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) formally agreed to commence the 4th round of peace talks