Lord…Help Us!

Lord…Help Us!

(a prayer of hope and remorse)

(inspired by Glace Tecson Lapuz-Fernandez)

 

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

With all the turmoil that beset our country

Nagpapataranta sa amin, kaya hindi mapakali

Lost in the murky depth of confusion, we pray

Tulong mo, Lord…dumating sana… baka sakali.

 

From the plague of diseases, killings… spare us

Sana man lang, gigising pa kami na ligtas bukas

The gnawing pain of poverty that makes us lean

Sa tulong mo, Lord…lahat ito, pilit naming titiisin.

 

From the greed of others, our rights they trample

Kaming mahihirap, nagdarahop, kanilang iniismol

They squash our precious honor and sip our blood

Tulong mo, Lord…puksain itong mga linta’t higad.

 

From the painful lashes that Mother Nature gives us

Hindi na kami makagulapay, hanap sa sugat ay lunas

We know, we erred…with regrets, we bow and pray

Tulong mo Lord…sa amin iparating…kami’y nagsisisi!

 

Lord…Help us!

 

(The inspiration to write the prayer, came when I viewed the disgusted feeling of Glace which she expressed in three words, “Lord, help us”…as a comment to the photo of contrasting houses of opportunists and informal settlers.)