By: Remigio Hernandez Baldovino

(Retired Public School Teacher, Former Municipal Information Officer)

As I watched upon the unfinished hall

I was seeing patience

Rising slowly behind the wall

Despite criticisms and disbeliefs

Misjudgment isn’t worth to keep

and can never suppress an undying spirit…

As I gazed upon the new residence

I was amazed by the structure’s grandeur

and magnificence

Like a gigantic sculpture

Carved from the hardest stones

The seat of leadership has finally been filled

with touches of perfection…

As I salute to the flag and to our dear leader

The battlecry roared out loud

But without anger or surrender

While the banner waved with courage

and humility in the air…

As I walked inside the hall

I’ve been halt by a magnetic pole

There’s a chandelier above my head

and round glass logo below my feet

offering my spirit a big lift…

As I trekked along the corridors

Transparency was revealed by its windows

and doors…

As I climbed to the peak

a hundred steps or more

All my life in my town

I’ve never done this before…

As I watched the sun from the rooftop

the horizon was fast shaping up

Thus a promise of a new dawn coming

I pray dark shadows won’t crawl

when the sun gets going

Unless we forget, how it was done

It will always be the fortress of Calaqueños

The stronghold of my hometown…