Long they stride upon the bamboo planks
underneath the scorching sun
and on calm waters.
Only to haul the lightweight
fishing nets, hollow as
their family’s stomachs.
Long they sail their bangka
on our fresh and saltwater,
to claim what remains and swim below.
Only to be menaced
by Foreign Beasts
who plunder what is ours.
But monsters do not only reside
in the waters— neither only foreign.
Some are homegrown,
crawling upon the earth
and concealed in rich clothing.
They care not for a fisherman’s soul;
only offer false promises
and a circus of tricks.
So long as those rogues reign,
the waters where men
seek for their lives
remain treacherous
despite the calm. F CZERIZHA KAIZEL S. ADZUARA
