Doubts Fade, Red and Gold Stays

By: SeoulFinding

Graphics by: Cassius Klai C. Francisco

Within the halls of red and gold,

the sun sets with bursting colors.

You can’t help but look around you

and see all the hues start to blur.

Where the Cardinal flies freely,

an archer’s arrow blazes past.

The eagle’s cries are loud and clear;

tigers roar and sunflowers bloom.

What if these were what I fought for?

Stood for a path that wasn’t this,

found myself in a different hall—

no Cardinal, not a builder.

Would I have been better? Greater?

Would the cries of a different chant

invigorate my whole being?

My path easier and safer?

But then, a bird chirps softly and sweetly,

a familiar voice calls your name.

A friend’s laughter and song erupt,

red and gold, brighter than ever.

With a smile, I know why I’m here,

why I fly as a Cardinal,

why right now, I bleed red and gold.

Hard as it may be, I still stand.

A different chant nor a new hue

would give me the love I have now—

the experience that has shaped me,

the Builder’s mindset that called me

I won’t be the me now,

without the cheers of “Viva!” all around,

the hardship that made me stronger.

I’m still here, ever red and gold.