Villanelle of a retired overseas Filipino worker

Nobody is left for me to astound.
Where did all my compatriots go?
The ship of my heart has run aground.

In the spring of my life with my friends around,
we toiled on the rice fields with scythes in tow
but now nobody is left for me to astound.

Land to till and rice husks to pound
with the sky above and the sea below.
Did the ship of my heart just run aground?

The wind among the bamboos make a keening sound
as one by one, away my colleagues flow
until nobody is left for me to astound.

Left with memories haphazardly found,
I struggle to remember: friend or foe?
The ship of my heart has run aground.

In the twilight of my life the lonely waves resound
as corners warp, reflexes slow.
Nobody is left for me to astound.
The ship of my heart has run aground.

by Blesilda I. R. Carmona (copyright 2006)
First Place, 2006 International Society of Poets Competition, Las Vegas, NV
Poet of the Year