I Am A Modern Filipino

I am a Modern Filipino


We are the Filipinos;
The embodiment of endless frustrations
And exhaustible hope;
A personification of never ending aspiration;
Of a spirit broken into million pieces;
Yet unwilling to give up;
An offspring of shame;
And futile struggle constantly seeks respect;
A prisoner brutalized enemies and abandoned
By allies yet remains defiant with unwavering
Dignity and pride.

I am a Filipino;
The care giver of the world;
The worker who never complains;
The wanted undocumented allies;
The voiceless nanny with a golden heart.

I am a Filipino;
The doctor who became a nurse;
Searching for fulfillment measured by
House and cars.

I am a Filipino;
The teacher who ran away from school;
Teaching the Prince’s son
For a princely sum.

I am a Filipino;
The soldier fighting in a foreign war for
The prized citizenship for his family
And himself.

We are the seekers of better life-boundaries,
Latitudes, working conditions, language,
Religious tolerance, and job description
Notwithstanding.

We are Filipinos.
We vowed the world with a string
Of beauties beyond compare;
Entertained with talents—
Roaring from Broadway to Hollywood;
Boxed the lights out of champions; and,
Victoriously clashed with
Brilliant minds.

I am a Filipino;
Inventor of People Power;
Purveyor of bloodless revolution;
Sucker for sweet prisoner
Of would be—kings.

I am a Filipino;
The Catholic whose rituals approximate paganism
With beliefs cry out to heavens
Still, we are for divinity;
A moral life and peace within.

I am a Filipino;
Longing for heroes whom I can’t touch;
Heroes who will inspire;
Heroes who will lead;
Heroes who will live; and,
Heroes who will not die.

We are tired of pretenders;
Of actors and actresses;
Of traditional politicians passed one from
One corrupt generation to the other.

We are tired of being resigned to dying
Without seeing the sun’s glory over our
Beloved country; of being ridiculed; and,
Be the butt of joker.

How I wish we can stand with
The rest of the world’s people;
Claiming for freedom; and,
Equality as my birthright—
Not something I have to die for.

How I wish for prosperity for a level field;
And the chance to compete; Even,
I may not have a choice—
Of my birth circumstances.

We are Filipinos;
Skin brown as the earth, nose hardy
As the mountains.


We are Filipinos;
Living in the orient known for pearls;
From endless seas; of the majestic sun
At dawn and dusk; of the ancient culture; and,
Civilization filled with awe and wonder.

I am a Filipino
Who will dictate my life, my “Obra Maestra”
My greatest feat to children of my own that—
They will be content to be a FILIPINO, and
Be even proud.

We are Filipinos
Who pledge as long as the earth mimics
The color of our skin and our archipelago
Of a broken rosary stays at one.

(An Excerpt from the Essay entitled “I am a Filipino” by Cav. Danilo M. Jimenez,Philippine Military Academy, Baguio City)Written into Poetry by Rodel Delera Añosa, MA Literature