The city is dying

(Photo Source)

My chest is heavy as I type this.

After sifting through tons of Facebook updates,

I just learned that a college classmate had her partner

gunned down last December 2010.

He succumbed after 10 days.

The worst part is he will never ever get to see his

unborn child.  My classmate is seven weeks pregnant.

I am still stunned, how could something like this happen.

It is really heartbreaking, this city is so violent.

It is a being heaving with animosity and hatred.

This city is dying...

Last year as my relatives fetched me from my apartment

to deposit me to the airport for my trip.

On the way, while still in the city, we saw a crowd forming

near a bakery.

They were ogling at a man lying supine on the street.

He was wearing blue jeans and a plain white shirt.

I can not forget this red splotch on his chest creeping

slowly gaining size - blood.

They said he was a police informer.

A trail of murders and vigilante killings:

A few months back...

We are still reeling from the shock of a rape-murder case

that again happened here in the city, a few blocks away from here.

The family owned a computer rental shop.

The mother had 3 kids, the husband worked abroad.

She was killed in the shop.

The younger 2 kids were locked away in a bedroom while

the heinous crime was committed.

The eldest daughter was raped brutally and then killed.

The suspect/s were said to be relatives of the family.

Years back...

So many were killed in a popular convenience store,

countless, always near that cursed store.

The victims were said to be all thieves.

Two of them were said to be brothers, young teens

who swayed from the right path.

Another was killed due to mistaken identity, as he was

doing his job as a barker near the public market, his hunted

twin was killed weeks ago.

Another young man was gunned down near a popular

pub for retirees, they said it was due to a woman.

The gunman was riding in a scooter when he killed the

lad with the handsome face.

They victim's family created a tarpaulin seeking witnesses

and elusive justice to no avail.

They said that the other party was powerful and rich.

You cannot win against the powerful and rich.

You cannot win against a gun.

This is the city of goons, guns and gold.