Who are the Fallen?

George Bradford Patterson II, US

I'm dedicating this poem to
Leticia Ramos Shahani and Margarita Wallander-Marchus.

Who are the Fallen?

Who are the fallen?
They are the purple bougainvilleas of Quezon City.
Who are the fallen?
They are the crimson bougainvilleas of of Pasig.
Who are the fallen?
They are the violet bougainvilleas of Laur.
Who are the fallen?
They are the pink bougainvilleas of Cabanatuan.
Who are the fallen?
They are the yellowbells of Naga.
Who are the fallen?
They are the pink santans of Daet.

Who are the fallen?
They are the scarlet bougainvilleas of Cebu City.
Who are the fallen?
They are the blue roses of Davao City.
Who are the fallen?
They are the red roses of Hebron.
Who are the fallen?
They are the white roses of Aleppo.
Who are the fallen?
They are the indigo roses of Amman.
Who are the fallen?
They are the pale pink roses of Mosul.
Who are the fallen?
They are the yellow roses of Beirut.
Who are the fallen?
They are the white orchids of Amazon Province.
Who are the fallen?
They are the red tulips of Kabul.

Who are the fallen?
They are the white jasmines of Lahore.
Who are the fallen?
They are the yellow daisies of Istanbul.
Who are the fallen?
They are the the pink periwinkles of Avdiivka.
Who are the fallen?
They are the white butterflies of Sa ' ana.
Who are the fallen?
They are the blue orchids of Medellin.
Who are the fallen?
They are the orange santans of Jolo.
Who are the fallen?
They are the magenta bougainvilleas of Bongao.

Cabanatuan City, Central Luzon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, February 10, 2017