I want to paint this land

I want to paint this land...
One that will soon
Be forgotten
A land where I can't
Cry
And can only
Smile
The land I left my heart at
I miss the mangoes and bananas
The seashells
The corner stores
I can almost feel this land...

I could bathe in the sea
And lie in the sand
Getting caught up in the waves

My skin wasn't pale as death;
It was colorful as life
I could stay there, in my country
For centuries

Tangled up in the bottom of the sea,
Buried beneath
Emerald seaweed
And bright blue sea and skies

Staring at small rice paddies
Grown upon the land
Soaked under the water
That spilled from metal pumps

My land
That will soon
Disappear and be replaced
With malls
Instead of cornerstores

Escalators instead of rickety stairs
Glass windows instead of
Fresh air

The sea that once
Sparkled like the sky
Will be filled with murdered fish
And look gray

The markets will disappear
And the stands will be burned
My beloved land
That will be gone

I want to paint this land
Before we say goodbye
My distant land
The Philippines