Pastel Villas

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Own Image, September 2023.


A tiny vivid city

Rising from the sea

Where villas dot the scene

With pink, yellow, and pale tangerine


Its roads are filled with stardust

On wintry summers each passing year

Blown everywhere by howling gusts

And gentle whiffs music to the ear


The rains of the island play jazz

As they pitter-patter everywhere

Like yesterday, like the other day

Every day, as it always has


At sunset, a lingering aroma

Invades every corner, every villa

With a quaint blend of sangria,

Lavender, and a touch of vanilla


In the middle of the island's forest

Is some secret garden

Where the most exotic, rarest

Flora and fauna are hidden


Meandering through the forbidden garden

Where the way follows a scent

Is a small cascading waterfall

Hiding precious gems unknown to all


There is a woozy labyrinth

Somehow, somewhere underneath

Leading to another island

Where marshes and swamps expand


The islands are riddled with enigma

Every corner, every villa

Has a strange story to tell

Written in various shades of pastel


The mementoes of long ago

Shaped, molded every road, every chateau

Perched on rugged cliffs and plateaus

If visited, if explored, will show


A life full of challenges, experiences

A life full of secrets and regrets

A life unknown and often, alone

A life so beautiful, so wonderful


That life is still on-going

Just as the islands are expanding

To accommodate more villas

To play and listen to more jazz


That life may be a tiny speck

In the grander scheme of things

But if one sees it from a deck

Is nevertheless fascinating



Copyright, Raymond Mapusao Andes,

All rights reserved.

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