Oriental Midshipman

Barely recognized in the eyes of posterity,

To whom I owe

Grassroots of innate ocean cunning and artistry

Conspicuously archived in history

Brimming major western fashion.

But to retrospect

Great tanned Titanic was first gazed by the omniscient sky.

No foreign stains

In the casting of brown nobles’ masterpiece – the Balangay.

Traces limited his trenches

To rust scouring mentality’s riches.

With its continuous stagnancy,

Yet, never degrading

For an earnest dream for family–

With endearment to Jun-jun, Maria and Analie

Only an “I’m home” symmetric curve on his face

Shall embrace the contained space

That had been unsettled empty for sails

The ancestral bliss to the present says it all

Pearl of the Orient Sea’s greatness stretching tall.

More than masters, they ply dimensions

Converging ties of kin divisions.

Ignited with a humble upbringing

Essential for the world’s smooth sailing;

You know them as “ratings”

Be transparent to unveil the opposite meaning.