THE SLEEPING LADY of Lake Lanao del Sur
Lifted from Melany Amante Mabao Maguindanao
24 November 2023
The Sleeping Lady
By Melany Amante Mabao Maguindanao
I remember you! You've been lying there since time I can remember. When the trees were tall over hills that roll...to the placid lake. Looking at you, only the heart knows the value of precious.
You were there in my good old days...each morning when I came to watch as the sunrise painted a kaleidoscope of colors in the skies over your voluptuous mountains. When the sun in the calm lake is mirrored and the scenery radiates your glorious beauty, I came to see.
You are indeed the ever beautiful enchanted sleeping lady that I used to fondly gaze at...as I find my special place under the calming shades of the great pine trees. The sight of you soothes the soul, your beauty and charm... can lighten one's trouble.
Guess somewhere in time, some curse sedated you to wait for a lover's kiss...like snowhite you just lie there for a thousand years, in tranquility of unperturbed peace.
I remembered vividly your sexy silhouette in the solitude of a graceful sundown. I remembered that perfect contour of a wonderland, when the mist and the fog dissipates in the morning sun.
Amazed from the golf course now where I stand...I seem to see you for the very first time. You are so silent at the backdrop of Lake Lanao, lonely and waiting for your lover to fulfill his vow.
It's been over a year now, but I dare to ask...
Were you not angry when fighter planes like mosquitoes swamped Marawi? Did the loud explosions from the bombs and sizzling fires from machine guns disturbed your sleep? Did you hear the deafening cries of the helpless civilians? Were there lost and bitter souls who find refuge in the bosom of your forests?
I was anxious and worried when the siege happened...you might lose your patience and rise... to whack them all away....punish them for their insolence and disrespect to your generosity. But you stayed very still and just lie in there, patiently...just peacefully!
Now the siege is over, and that view just beside you looks dark and gloomy! Redemption seems light years away. My eyes gone moist and my heart is aching. My sigh still echoes a resounding disbelief!
But watching you behind the passing white clouds down below the bluest of blue skies.... I feel hope! It may take long and I may no longer be here to capture the sight, but one thing I am sure of is... that you'll still be there in the rising of the new Marawi!
