The Ballad of Scarborough Shoal: Bajo de Masinloc Poems - Paperback

A reef once broken does not heal
in seasons short or mild;
it mends in decades, sometimes more,
like memory defiled.

The Ballad of Scarborough Shoal is a stirring poetry collection that transforms a deeply contested reef into a powerful ode to memory, sovereignty, and the enduring bond between people and the sea. In twenty-one evocative poems woven through rhyme, free verse, chant, and lyrical ballad, Francis Tol Tolentino traces the story of Bajo de Masinloc, a place shaped by wind, tide, history, and the quiet courage of the sentinels who stand watch over it.

These pensive, patriotic poems honor the Filipino fisherfolk who know the shoal by instinct and horizon, the Philippine soldiers and sailors who patrol its waters, and the fragile coral ecosystem flourishing beneath the waves. Drawing on history, maritime law, and lived experience, this collection reflects on territorial waters, environmental stewardship, and the meaning of national identity in the modern South China Sea.

At the edge of the reef, where wind and water meet, poetry witnesses a sovereign nation's silent struggle to guard both its borders and its natural beauty.

The Ballad of Scarborough Shoal is a powerful collection of political poetry and environmental verse rooted in the contested history of the South China Sea. With themes of sovereignty, maritime law, national identity, patriotic duty, and the protection of fragile ocean ecosystems, this contemporary collection will resonate with anyone with a passion for history, culture, nature, or heritage. Both a literary meditation and a poetic narrative of Bajo de Masinloc, this book stands as a tribute to the Filipino spirit, the courage of those who defend their nation's waters, and the enduring voice of the sea itself.