I'll tie a yellow ribbon 'round the tallest coconut tree in your front lawn.
And any sticking post and branch down your neighborhood strip.
Everywhere yellow ribbons for your safe and sound return.

I'll burn incense on a little shrine tucked beneath my bedroom closet.
Watching over me, icons of saints and heroes we share - the 5M's:
Mother Terry, Mahatma, Mandela, Martin LK, and fellow Mekeni - Mang Ninoy.

I'll release an immaculate white dove - olive branch dangling on its beak - from my veranda.
Background music by swaying wind chimes skirting on the roof eaves;
Heralding the soft morning breeze and the calm rising sun in synchrony.

I'll fold assorted colored paper cranes, thousands of these paper birds.
A Japanese symbol of hope and longevity, in the origami fashion,
Just like the art of making sushi, I learned from a friend in Hiroshima.

I'll light a candle afloat on a lotus frond in my backyard pond,
Filled with tranquil turtles, tantalizing tilapias, and tonsil-tired toads -
A perfect oasis for your tense-ful and tempestuous ordeal.

I'll strike my Korean peace bell hanging on a gazebo stand
In my Zen garden, once on the hour and every hour, each day;
A poignant reminder of your very difficult struggle.

I'll march down the street waving a white flag painted with a peace logo.
If it's possible, I'll bravely stand in front and face the tanks.
And drop a stalk of rose in an AK47's nozzle held by a soldier.