The Shadow

By Neneng Espiritu Babanto
Contributor

A Tribute to Honorable Judge Sinforoso Tabamo, Jr., the son of Mahinog (Blessed be his memory).
When I think of death, I regard it as a shadow and this leads me to create a poem.

The Shadow

I come with my soul, I tread,
My garment, my body, I appear;
My mind, my thoughts decide,
If it is to be, it’s up to me.

On to the trail, the valleys and hills,
I walk with my shadow behind me;
In my spine, I’m feeling the chill,
But no matter what, I can’t stop!

To the dusty road unknown,
I forge ahead to reach my goal;
Down I fall, dust off and go on,
Not feeling the fatigue anymore.

From a distance, it appears, I’m near,
The beginning meets the end;
Dreams fulfilled I hold dear,
Home at last and the shadow was gone.

He was senior and I was a freshmen. The senior students were our role models. Oftentimes, we played softball games with the senior students. Our coach was Fr. Patrick Cashman, the founder of CSMPHS. There were no lots of enrollees at that time therefore we were closed and treated ourselves like brothers and sisters. I remembered that we witnessed the debate teams organized by the Public Speaking class. Baby, we call him delivered his brutal with confidence. Aside from his love of argument, Baby loved music. His baritone voice was prominent when he joined his classmates caroling in the neighborhood to raise funds for their class. The first batch enjoyed the first graduation. He graduated valedictorian. Fast forward, we heard that he pursued law and came back to town already a lawyer and then eventually appointed as the municipal judge in Mahinog. A product of Columbia, St. Michael’s Parish High School, we secretly and publicly admired him. In my humble perspective, Honorable Judge Tabamo’s life story was scripted in just few simple ways: love and passion of learning, service to the people of Mahinog, his country and the world, unending faith in God, a family man, and a man of conviction. He kept his life balance and his footsteps left an indelible imprint on those people and friends he’d encountered in the crossroads of his life. Yes, his body is gone but as soon as his soul crosses the door to eternal life the Holy One welcomes him and said, “Well done, son, well done!” This, we believe. God gives. God takes. Death is the portal to eternal life. All of us from Columbia, St. Michael’s Parish High School Alumni members from far and near pray for the eternal repose of your soul. You will be missed, brother.

An old picture of Judge Sinforoso V. Tabamo, Jr. (second from left) during his youth. Photo courtesy of Mahinog sa Karaang Panahon by Amiel M. Ranalan. -HRJ