I heard the breath of the old rugged jeepneys

along with the chants of the barkers

and sidewalk vendors. On that night,

and perhaps all the other nights

before it, there were always strangers

walking on the streets. When the sound

of the humming city slowly faded, it was replaced

by the hissing and rumbling of the buses

in the public terminal. People arrived and left.

Those who stayed for the night rented folding beds.

I sat beside them, and listened to the choir

of languages. I observed, although the noises

filled the spaces, I could still overhear

the songs of the birds, who were perching

on the steel skeletons of the ceilings