By Ella Meriel C. Merin

Thunderous screams of help merge with the sound of dense rain,
Unleashed from the voice of the populace,
The night was long and we felt neglected, betrayed,
Deceived by the system, I thought it had already changed.

My family and I did our best to save everything,
But we reached our roof and rescued nothing,
When the morning came, our place become foreign,
With weariness, we saw the trail of last night’s misery.

My head was full of thoughts of dismay,
Pending tasks all due within the week.
Oh, I am so close to giving up,
If the only resort left is to twiddle one's thumb.

We suffered in calamities and experienced hardships to survive,
It takes immeasurable time before our wounds get healed,
Accountability is what we are chasing,
It's a shame they romanticize the moment we faced death!

(Illustrated by Maria Margarita Corazon P. Rivera)